Government ads must not display following:
- Stop glorification of political figure or party in power- especially on the eve of elections.
- Do not publish photos of political leaders (except President/Prime Minister or Governor/Chief Minister)
- Do not publish name of the political parties including ruling party.
- No political symbol/logo/flag.
- No website links to political parties or political leader.
- No attack on opposition parties.
Government ads should cover only following:
- Ads related to government responsibilities, public safety, awareness.
- Government ads shall maintain political neutrality. Display message in objective and fair manner.
- Prior to elections, display no Government ads, except following:
- Law and order related
- Public health, disaster precaution, safety advisories
- Job applications, tender-contract advertisements
- During Nehru, Gandhi or xyz anniversary, multiple ministries, departments and PSUs run separate advertisements, thus wasting public money. For such anniversaries/ commemorations, issue only single advertisement.
- Additionally: setup an Ombudsman to check violation of these guidelines.
______________________
Based on it SC had banned ruling parties from publishing photos of Chief Ministers, political leaders and politicians in government-funded advertisements, saying that it cannot allow them to use taxpayers’ money to build a “personality cult.”
The court says such photos divert attention from the policy of the government, unnecessarily associate an individual with a government project and pave the way for cultivating a “personality cult.”