Letters: SMS campaigns

The complaint by some political parties in Andhra Pradesh that SMSes should not be used for election propaganda is unjustified. Instead of holding huge rallies and ferrying people for these rallies at great expense or by seizing public transport, causing inconvenience to public, it is preferable to use the electronic medium — the Internet, TV, radio and cell phones — for election campaigning. Parties can significantly cut down their expenditure on public meetings and roadshows by using these relatively inexpensive mediums. As regards decency, or the prohibitions that are there according to the election code, it is immaterial whether the messages are delivered as word of mouth in public meetings or in sound and text through electronic mediums. Election commissioners should, therefore, dismiss the complaint of political parties in Andhra Pradesh and, in fact, encourage the use of these mediums. It is the content that should be conforming to the rules and regulations and not the medium which passively carries the message.

T H Chowdary, Hyderabad

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