Only losers demand a ban on opinion polls: BJP

Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said some opinion polls may go wrong, but it does not mean they should be banned

BJP today said restricting opinion polls is neither constitutionally permissible nor desirable as they are a part of free speech and maintained that only losers demand a ban on them.

Countering the Congress demand for banning opinion polls, Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said though psephology is still maturing in India and some opinion polls do go wrong, it does not mean they should be banned.

"There are opinion polls and opinion polls. Some have acquired credibility and some can easily be ignored. Some are cases of even 'participatory psephology'. Whatever may be the reliability or otherwise of these polls, can they be prohibited or banned?" Jaitley said in an article released by the BJP on Monday.

Noting that political parties tend to rubbish opinion polls that predict adverse results, he said the loser demands a ban and the potential winner wants them to continue.

"A ban on such polls cannot be considered based on who is demanding the ban. Clearly, (opinion) polls are also a part of free speech. Restricting them is constitutionally neither permissible nor desirable," Jaitley said.

Several opinion polls conducted recently show BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi ahead of Rahul Gandhi, widely seen as the PM probable for Congress. Opinion polls on the ensuing Assembly elections show BJP as the clear winner in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

"If the polls can be legitimately banned in this country, the next step would be to ban political commentators from giving assessments favourable to some and adverse to some others. A potential loser in an election cannot seek to alter the rules of free speech," Jaitley said.

With Congress taking the case to the Election Commission, the BJP said the poll panel is best advised to "keep away from this controversy and allow the market place of democracy to accept or reject the findings of opinion polls".