Notice to BJP leader for political ad on social media

Pune collector and district election officer Dr Suhas Diwase has issued a show cause notice to former BJP corporator Amol Balwadkar for carrying out poll campaigning on social media

PUNE: Pune collector and district election officer Dr Suhas Diwase has issued a show cause notice to former BJP Corporator Amol Balwadkar for carrying out campaigning of BJP on social media. The collector has asked Balwadkar to stop the advertisement released on social media, seeking an explanation from the corporator besides threatening action.

Pune collector and district election officer Dr Suhas Diwase has issued a show cause notice to former BJP corporator Amol Balwadkar (in pic) for carrying out poll campaigning on social media. (HT)

The show cause notice signed by the district collector on April 5 stated political advertisements to be released on social media channels need to be approved by the District Level Media Certification and Control Committee.

The notice stated, “Balwadkar’s online conduct is a violation of the provisions of the Indian Representation of the People Act as well as the Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act.” Amol Balwadkar is a former corporator of Bharatiya Janata Party from Baner and had released a political ad on his Facebook page. The matter was brought to the attention of the District Information Officer and Member Secretary, District Level Media Verification and Control Committee after which action was initiated. However, the notice states that political advertisements on social media require pre-certification.