District Returning Officer and Deputy Commissioner Divya Prabhu on Thursday clarified that while prior certification is not required for carrying out political advertisements in print media except on the eve of polling and polling day, the same did not apply to e-papers as they have been categorised under electronic media.
Interacting with media persons during a workshop on Media Certification and Monitoring Committee and Paid News orgnaised by the district administration and the election office in Hubballi, she clarified that as e-paper has been categorised under electronic media, pre-certification of political advertisements is mandatory.
Reading out from the handbook brought out by Election Commission of India, Ms. Prabhu said that social media platforms, group messaging, advertisements in cinemas and canvassing on FM radios come under the definition of electronic media and pre-certification is mandatory.
