Daily Archives: November 5, 2013

Senior leader of the BJP Arun Jaitley Monday accused the Congress of posing threats to the right of freedom of expression, and said: "A potential loser in the elections cannot seek to alter the rules of free speech."

The Bharatiya Janata Party leader, in an article on the party's website, was responding to a statement from the Congress seeking a restriction on opinion polls, in the run-up to the elections.

Jaitley said the government's "unconstitutional censorship order" last month concerning "artificial competition" to the prime minister's national day speeches was prompted by "Modi-phobia".

He added that opinion polls too were part of freedom of speech.

"Restricting them is constitutionally neither permissible nor desirable. The Election Commission will be best advised to keep away from the controversy concerning the ban on opinion polls and allow the market place of democracy to accept or reject the findings of the opinion poll," he said.

"When the trend of opinion polls are adverse to political parties, they rubbish them," Jaitley said.

"They start demanding a ban. The loser demands a ban and the potential winner wants them to continue. A ban on such polls cannot be considered based on who is demanding the ban," he said.

According to the CNN-IBN-The Week pre-poll survey telecast last week, the BJP was set to retain Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and defeat the Congress in Rajasthan.

It said the BJP was slightly ahead of Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party in the three-way split in Delhi.

Five states, including Mizoram, are to go to the polls November-December.

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Congress trying to restrict free speech, says Arun Jaitley

The Hindu Arun Jaitley. File Photo: Monica Tiwari

Taking exception to the government view that it was not proper on the part of television channels to have compared Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs Independence Day address with Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modis speech, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley has said it amounts to violation of the right to free speech and expression.

Also impacting the right are the recent order of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India restricting advertising time on the electronic media and the Election Commission proposal to ban opinion polls, Mr. Jaitley said in a note released by the BJP on Monday.

Quoting Article 19(2) of the Constitution, Mr. Jaitley said it provided specific conditions under which the right to free speech could be restricted. These restrictions must necessarily have nexus to the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, the public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence.

No restriction can be imposed on the right to free speech either by the government or by the Election Commission which falls outside the purview of any of the above circumstances.

The BJP leader said the effect of the Information and Broadcasting Ministrys order was that on days the Prime Minister addressed the nation, no other speech should be telecast, Chief Ministers must be boycotted and any comment of an Opposition leader should be censored.

Criticism which does not offend any of the Article 19(2) restrictions can never be restricted. No action under the Cable law can be taken for a legitimate exercise of the free speech right. The restrictions under the Cable regulations must all be read in the context of Article 19(2). Otherwise, such provisions of the Cable regulations may fall foul of Article 19(1) (a).

On the TRAI order restricting advertising time, the BJP leader said it ostensibly hurt the business of a news channel and also effectively hurt the right of free speech.

On the EC proposal to ban opinion polls, Mr. Jaitley said the commission would be best advised to keep away from this controversy and allow the market place of democracy to accept or reject the findings of an opinion poll.

If the polls can be legitimately banned in this country, the next step would be to ban political commentators from giving assessments favourable to some and adverse to some others. A potential loser in an election cannot seek to alter the rules of Free Speech.

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It’s violation of right to free speech and expression: Jaitley