NEW DELHI, January 8: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today demanded that the Prasar Bharati Board should frame guidelines for Doordarshan's coverage of the elections, along the lines of the Election Commission's model code of conduct.On the issue of Doordarshan's coverage of political parties, the Prasar Bharati Board meeting today clarified that impartial coverage was given to all parties and that the maximum coverage had been given to the BJP. ``This delayed denial is most unconvincing,'' BJP vice president K L Sharma said. He demanded that details of the time allotted and headlines should be provided.A study of the time alloted to various parties since December 20, however, shows that the BJP has got maximum coverage in Doordarshan's evening bulletins. Prasar Bharati CEO S S Gill told newspersons at a press conference today that the objective of this study had been to ensure transparency and not to make comparisons for the purpose of balance.The study showed that from December 20 to December 31,the BJP got 41 minutes and 50 seconds of coverage in the evening bulletins and 17 minutes from January one to six. The Congress got 36 minutes and ten seconds during the period studied last month and 18 minutes and five seconds this month. The Rashtriya Janata Dal, Janata Dal and other parties followed.``We are covering the news purely on news-value, objectively, impartially and in a balanced manner and without any slant,'' emphasised Gill. He said tapes of all the news coverage were lying with Doordarshan and anybody could check these. He further said the Prasar Bharati ``has no editorial policy for news coverage. News is covered only on merit and on its news-worthiness.''Gill also announced a 72-hour plan chalked out for the ``comprehensive, detailed and upto date'' coverage of the coming Lok Sabha elections. The exit-poll would be shown by DD half-an-hour after the close of the polling on the last day of the elections, he added.There would also be panel discussions, direct interviews backgroundersand election analyses by Doordarshan staffers and privately engaged parties, including voluntary organisations.The aim of the Prasar Bharati, he said, was two-fold - to educate and inform the public about election malpractices and to lure the voters, especially the youth and the urban elite to participate in the election process in large numbers.Meanwhile, the Election Commission (EC) has fixed a meeting with the representatives of the electronic media on January 12 for the purpose of impartial election coverage.
