Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi on Thursday called for a "complete check" on the menace of paid news during polls and emphasised on keeping a track on the expenditure record of candidates.
Quraishi, addressing a conference of Chief Electoral Officers of the states organised at Faridabad, said it had been observed that some candidates, "in connivance with the media groups", showed highly priced advertisements to be of much lesser price to "minimise" their poll expenditure.
He said during the recent Assembly elections in five states, it was brought to notice that the candidates got advertisements published as news items which created suspicion.
"This (paid news) should be completely checked," he said. Quraishi also advocated the need to keep tab on the expenditure record of candidates within a specific time period so that the candidature of those found violating the rules "could be cancelled".
He directed the CEOs to update information of their state on the Commission's website. Quraishi asked the officials to speed up enrolment of candidates who have just completed 18 years of age.
