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NDA`s ``feel good show`` comes to an end
New Delhi, Feb 29: The Central government`s mega ad blitz--India Shining--was finally switched off today as the model code of conduct came into effect following the announcement of dates for general elections by the Election Commission.
New Delhi, Feb 29: The Central government's mega ad blitz--India Shining--was finally switched off today as the model code of conduct came into effect following the announcement of dates for
general elections by the Election Commission.
The ''India Shining'' and its Hindi avtaar ''Bharat Uday'' campaigns had raised a debate across the country. It was aimed at hardselling the feel-good fantasia by the BJP-led NDA government and appeared in all major television channels and 450 newspapers across the country.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) T S Krishnamurthy told that it is the Election Commission's interpretation of the model code of conduct that the campaign should end now. Earlier, he had said that as far as possible, tax payers' money should not be used for such practices. In a thinly-veiled reference to ''India Shining'', he questioned the propriety of the government using the tax payer's money for electoral advantage.
However, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee justified the campaign, saying that he did not see anything wrong with it, and that it was the duty of the government to inform the people of its achievements.
Finally, the ad campaign was challenged in the Delhi High Court while the Congress said the Centre had spent Rs 750 crore of public funds to boost the NDA's ratings.
The government celebrated the booming economy with a newspaper and television campaign. Several media experts say the campaign was highly successful and clearly helped in unleashing a sudden surge in public optimism. Originally launched on October 10, it had to be withdrawn just four days later since assembly elections in four states were round the corner. It came back in circulation on December 5.
The well-packaged, multicolour advertisements were unusual for the Central government that often heralded its successes in the past with cheap-looking newspaper ads filled with headshots of various Cabinet ministers. The intent behind this media offensive as in those by previous governments was clear: to bankroll the incumbent party's electoral campaign through official subsidy.
The most fulsome advertisements though were on the Prime Minister's dream national highway project.
Bureau Report
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) T S Krishnamurthy told that it is the Election Commission's interpretation of the model code of conduct that the campaign should end now. Earlier, he had said that as far as possible, tax payers' money should not be used for such practices. In a thinly-veiled reference to ''India Shining'', he questioned the propriety of the government using the tax payer's money for electoral advantage.
However, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee justified the campaign, saying that he did not see anything wrong with it, and that it was the duty of the government to inform the people of its achievements.
Finally, the ad campaign was challenged in the Delhi High Court while the Congress said the Centre had spent Rs 750 crore of public funds to boost the NDA's ratings.
The government celebrated the booming economy with a newspaper and television campaign. Several media experts say the campaign was highly successful and clearly helped in unleashing a sudden surge in public optimism. Originally launched on October 10, it had to be withdrawn just four days later since assembly elections in four states were round the corner. It came back in circulation on December 5.
The well-packaged, multicolour advertisements were unusual for the Central government that often heralded its successes in the past with cheap-looking newspaper ads filled with headshots of various Cabinet ministers. The intent behind this media offensive as in those by previous governments was clear: to bankroll the incumbent party's electoral campaign through official subsidy.
The most fulsome advertisements though were on the Prime Minister's dream national highway project.
Bureau Report