Poll panel bans mudslinging cartoons by Cong,SAD-BJP

The Akali Dal had lodged a complaint with the Media Monitoring Committee of Chief Electoral Officer,Punjab,against the two advertisements issued by the Congress on atta-dal and on corruption by SAD government. Both have been banned by the committee,which has also forbidden the Congress from airing these till further orders.

Through these characters,both parties have unleashed a major bout of mudslinging.

In one such ad,Jeeta dubs Badal as the biggest ‘jaadugar’ (magician). When Jaggi asks him to elaborate,Jeeta says that all schools and hospitals claimed to have been established by the SAD-BJP combine “could not be seen anywhere on the ground”. That the Akalis reacted to Jeeta and Jaggi in itself shows that the Congress campaign has been successful,say party leaders.

In an SAD counter-advertisement,a boy asks a mother,“Who introduced the Right to Service Act and who removed power woes in Punjab?”. When the mother replies “It was the SAD-BJP coalition”,the son asks “Then why are Jhutha and Thuggi trying to mislead people?”

The Punjab People’s Party is trying to cash in on the popularity of ‘Kolaveri Di’. It has created a Punjabi version to woo voters,’Saade dilan vich vas gayi hai PPP’ (PPP has found a place in our hearts) has become a great hit ever since it was uploaded on YouTube,said Bhagwant Mann who has written and sung this song.

Some time back in a memorandum to the Chief Electoral Officer Punjab,comedian Jaspal Bhatti,in a lighter vein,urged the Commission to allow leaders and contesting candidates to indulge in “mudslinging and even character assassination to some extent”.

Bhatti,who is the brand icon of the Commission for these polls to urge voters to exercise their franchise said: “These things will help the voters to make up their mind in choosing the candidate who is less corrupt than others.”