According to chief electoral officer, paid news became a major problem and can be dealt with only by the self-regulation of media and political parties. But it was seen that this was not happening and the voters’ right to get unbiased and correct information is at stake. To avoid this, the electoral officials have set up vigilance cells which will monitor the content that is published and broadcasted. Till now 86 complaints have been registered and notices have been issued to concerned candidates.
In another measure to curb illegal use of money for the sake of canvassing during elections, the officials have put restrictions on the expenditure by the candidates. The expenditure limit for the candidate contesting for Parliament is 25 lakhs and for assembly it is 10 lakhs.
Source: The statesman