A major row has erupted over Congress’ demand to ban opinion polls, most of which have predicted a rout for the ruling party in the ensuing Assembly and the 2014 general elections.
Congress leaders and Union Ministers took turns on Monday to claim that results of random opinion polls were erroneous, lack credibility and were prone to manipulations. But, the BJP taunted the Congress terming it as a ‘potential loser’ out to try altering the rule of free speech.
While UPA Government’s outside supporters SP and BSP also supported a ban, the CPM opposed the idea of making public the results of such surveys before the elections. Several opinion polls have predicted another round of defeat for the CPM in West Bengal. The CPI said the EC must convene an all-party meeting on the issue. On its part, the SAD said it was in favour of the opinion polls.
The Congress had written to the EC on October 30, demanding restriction on publication and dissemination of opinion polls results during elections.
BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi reminded people of Congress’ history of imposing Emergency in the country and quipped that it may even seek a ban on the Election Commission and courts.
“Those who have followed Indian politics and the workings of the Congress party after Independence would agree that the stand of the Congress party does not come as a surprise. The biggest casualty of the Congress party’s arrogance has been our Fundamental Right to Free Speech,” Modi wrote in a blog on Monday.
Modi expressed concerns saying the Congress may seek a ban on articles, editorials and blogs during election time on the very same grounds.
“If they lose an election they may then seek a ban on the Election Commission and if the courts do not support them then they may say why not ban the courts! After all this a party that resorted to imposing the Emergency in response to an inconvenient Court Verdict,” he added.
Claiming it was utterly puerile to resort to extreme steps simply because the opinion polls do not tell what Congress wants to hear, Modi further wrote, “If you ask me, the solution is much simpler. Rather than cope with these authoritarian and subversion tactics of the Congress, it is better we reject the anti-democratic Congress not merely in an opinion poll but in the polling booth where it matters the most.”
leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said, “A potential loser in an election can not seek to alter the rules of Free Speech.” “These polls have become a farce. They should be banned altogether. The kind of complaints, information that I have got show that anyone can pay and get a survey as desired. In a country of 1.2 billion people, how can a few thousand people predict the trendIJ It has become a racket. So many groups have sprung up,” Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh said.
Union Minister Rajiv Shukla, speaking separately, said that opinion polls are also at times “manipulated” and, hence, the party has done the right thing opposing it.
“If there are genuine opinion polls, nobody minds but now the kind of reports that we are getting is that there are also manipulated opinion polls. Every Tom, Dick and Harry is coming out with an opinion poll. Obviously, when the media gives publicity, people definitely get carried away. So, it has been the right demand of the party. There has to be a neutral mind before polls,” Shukla said.
In a written reply to the Commission on October 30, the Congress said that it “fully endorses the views of the Election Commission of India to restrict publication and dissemination of opinion polls during the election”. It added, “In fact, the opinion polls during election are neither scientific nor is there any transparent process for such polls.”
The poll body had asked various recognised national and State political parties to give their views on the issue by October 21. At present, there is ban on opinion polls starting 48 hours before voting.
“Opinion polls can be conducted but EC must set timeframe wherein results shouldn’t be published until elections are held,” CPM leader Sitaram Yechury said.
CPI leader D Raja said the Election Commission should convene a meeting of all political parties to discuss the issue of opinion polls. Raja said, “The question of a ban on opinion polls needs to be further discussed. The Election Commission cannot take a decision like this. It should convene a meeting of all political parties and discuss these issues on the basis of consensus before taking the decision.”
BSP leader Satish Chandra Mishra and Samajwadi Party General Secretary Ram Gopal Yadav, though, supported Congress’ demand for a ban on opinion polls. They also argued that the opinion polls were prone to manipulations. Incidentally, both these parties provide outside support to the Congress-led UPA at the centre.
Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal, however, felt that the Congress was opposing opinion polls, as they indicted defeat for the ruling party. “Congress is making this demand as they have sensed the crushing defeat they will face in upcoming Assembly elections in five states, after which they are going to meet the same fate in the 2014 lok Sabha polls,” Badal told reporters on the sidelines of a state-level function to mark Vishwakarma Puja in ludhiana. He expressed surprise that Congress, “which has all along been favouring opinion polls, is now opposing the same after finding the winds unfavourable”.
Attorney General GE Vahanvati too has reportedly told the Centre that pre-poll opinion surveys should be banned.