The Punjab Chief Electoral Officer on Monday issued an advisory to the PTC channel,saying they should not be biased in their reporting from now onwards. As for Nanhi Chaan,it was said since it was a non-government organisation (NGO),it did not come under their ambit. Sources said at Mondays meeting of the Media Monitoring Committee of the Chief Electoral Officer,it was decided to issue an advisory to PTC channel,telling it not to be biased as from now onwards the committee would monitor their Tuhada Halka programme on a daily basis. If any bias was found,the matter would be referred to the Union Ministry of Broadcasting. On Nanhi Chaan,the committee was of the view that since this NGO had no affiliation with any political party,it was not in their purview. Referring to the paid advertisements being aired on PTC under the programmes called Tuhada Halka and Nanhi Chaan,the programme conceptualised by the NGO,the committee had earlier asked the channel if they had sought prior approval before telecasting these programmes. Finding that the channel was airing programmes promoting the interests of the SAD candidates,the committee told the channel to stop such kind of telecast and reply back within 12 hours. However,chief legal officer of PTC Rajesh Mehtam,in a reply,said,The notice used by the Media Monitoring Committee of the Chief Electoral Officer is vague. It does not state under which section we are violating the model code of conduct. We have not been able to find any specific section or any specific violation that may have occurred in our shows. Notwithstanding the merit of our case,the fact is that the programme Tohada Halqa is an informative series being telecast under which we cover different constituencies.
