Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has reconstituted the State-level Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC) following directions of the Supreme Court of India.
As per the order, the Chief Electoral Officer will serve as Chairman of the committee. Members will include Director (M&C), PIB; IIS officer Nana Meshram; any observer appointed by the Election Commission of India; Deputy Director (News), Doordarshan Kendra; Shashin Rai as an independent citizen/journalist nominated by the Press Council of India; and Managing Director of Info Tech Corporation Ltd., Panaji, Praveen Volvotkar, as intermediary/social media expert. The Additional CEO/Joint CEO in charge of media will function as Member Secretary.
The State-level MCMC will decide on appeals from political parties, candidates or any other person regarding grant or refusal of certification of advertisements. Such appeals will lie only with the State-level committee headed by the CEO and will be disposed of at that level.
The committee will also examine cases of paid news on appeal against decisions of District MCMC or those taken up suo motu. In such cases, it may direct the concerned Returning Officers to issue notices to candidates.
Further, appeals from District and Additional/Joint CEO committees will be handled exclusively by the State-level MCMC headed by the CEO, as per the Election Commission’s order.
