TV serials peddling govt schemes? EC wants political content vetted

Election officials in Maharashtra have asked production houses of two Hindi TV serials accused of espousing the BJP-led government’s schemes to get ‘politically influential’ content vetted with them before it is telecast.

The content telecast was a clear violation of the model election code, an official said.

Maharashtra’s additional chief electoral officer Dilip Shinde, in an order issued on Monday said, “The production houses should get politically influential content checked from election officials before using it in their serials.”

The Congress had taken objection to characters in the two TV serials praising government schemes like Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, Swacch Bharat Abhiyan and Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana. The two production houses had subsequently replied to the notice.