Complaint against Chandigarh Congress candidate for using Emblem of India in advt

Chandigarh, May 31

The Media Certification and Monitoring Committee, UT, has filed a complaint with the Chandigarh Election Department against Congress candidate Manish Tewari for using the Emblem of India in an advertisement in which former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was appealing to voters to vote for him.

The advertisement, which appeared in many English and Hindi dailies on Thursday, had ‘Emblem of India’. The use of state emblem is restricted as per law.

As per the guidelines of the Election Commission of India, no person, including former functionaries of the government like former ministers, former MPs, former MLAs, former Judges and retired government officials other than those authorised under these rules, shall use the emblem in any manner.

Tewari had served as Minister of State (independent charge) in the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting during the tenure of Manmohan Singh from 2004 to 2014.

In the message, the former PM had stated that “Tewari is an able parliamentarian with a deep understanding of the problems of Chandigarh and has a keen interest in national and international affairs. I request the voters to elect him to Parliament as he would serve you with dedication, integrity and compassion”.