Naqvi slams Congress over seeking ban on opinion polls

Strongly opposing the proposed restriction on opinion polls, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Tuesday criticised the Congress Party and said that the ruling party may seek a ban on political parties too.

"Today Congress is saying there should be a ban on opinion polls, tomorrow might say ban political parties. We oppose this," said Naqvi.

Naqvi earlier said that the party is not in favour of banning opinion polls, and added that the Election Commission should convene an all-party meet to discuss this issue.

"We are not in favour of this. The opinions can vary one or two percent. We are against the restriction on opinion polls. This is not a democratic way. This is against the freedom of expression. And if the Election Commission feels this step is necessary, it should convene an all-party meet to discuss this issue," he said.

Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley on Monday launched a frontal attack on the Election Commission (EC) for proposing to restrict opinion polls, and said that opinion polls are a part of free speech, which is a guaranteed fundamental right.

"This is a proposal that has come from the Election Commission (EC). There is always a rationale under which polls are conducted. This issue has to be decided by the market place of democracy, which is public opinion," he said.

"This is also an issue of constitutionality. Free speech is a guaranteed Fundamental Right. Opinion polls are a part of that free speech Right. You can't have any reasonable restriction on free speech. Certainly inaccuracy of an opinion poll is not one of the conditions mentioned in Article 19 (2) that you think in terms of banning them. We are going to tell the Election Commission that you can't do it," he added.

The Election Commission had earlier sought the views of the political parties on restricting publication and dissemination of opinion polls during elections.

In a written reply to the Commission on October 30, the Congress party said that it "fully endorses the views of the Election Commission of India to restrict publication and dissemination of opinion polls during the election".

The legal department of the Congress Party stated that opinion polls can be misused, and they are not scientific or credible.

The opinion polls have been projecting poor show of the Congress in some states where Assembly Elections are scheduled to take place.