After the notification of Assembly elections in the State of Himachal Pradesh, Deputy Commissioner Shimla has directed that broadcasting of FM advertisements, bulk SMS and voice messages without authentication is prohibited and in violation of model code of conduct (MCC).

In a press statement, according to a UNI report, District Election Officer and Deputy Commissioner Shimla Aditya Negi stated that the advertisements — received from political parties and election candidates broadcast on All India Radio (774 kHz), 103,7 MHz), Big FM (90.0 MHz) and Dhamaal-24 (106.4 MHz) — cannot be used without authentication.

On the same lines, telecom firms also cannot send bulk SMS and voice messages without prior certification.

Negi said that for this purpose, it will be mandatory to do prior certification from a government body constituted in the office of the District Election Officer (DC). District Public Relations Officer Shimla has been appointed as Member Secretary of the body.

In this context, he has directed Director All India Radio and senior executives of FM radio stations, general manager BSNL and executives of telecom companies to ensure strict compliance of the Supreme Court’s order of dated April 13, 2004 in this regard.