🛑 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐥 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝: 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐖𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐭? FIRs Filed Against Digital News Portals in Ludhiana for Publishing Poll Data During Election Silence In a serious crackdown before the Ludhiana West by-election, FIRs were filed against multiple digital news portals that violated the 48-hour “poll silence” period by publishing opinion polls. This period, legally protected under the Representation of the People Act, is meant to allow voters to reflect without media influence or political pressure. Despite prior warnings issued by the District Election Officer, some portals went ahead and published surveys, raising serious concerns about media accountability, legal awareness, and democratic responsibility. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐚𝐥? Media without responsibility is a threat to democracy. Publishing opinion polls during the silent period can directly impact voter sentiment, especially in high-stakes elections like Ludhiana West. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚. It’s about upholding the rules of free and fair elections — the very foundation of a democracy. 🧭 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐕𝐢𝐞𝐰: 𝐉𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐁𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐀𝐭 𝐁𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐳 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞: ✅ Journalism must serve the truth, not trend-chasing. ✅ Every reporter should be aware of legal obligations before publishing political content. ✅ Media platforms must invest in editorial training and election ethics. ✊ 𝗟𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝘆 The digital media revolution has empowered local voices — but with that power comes the duty to inform without misleading, and to influence without violating the law. This FIR should not just be seen as punishment — but as a wake-up call for all media houses to: Understand the Representation of the People Act Respect Model Code of Conduct Train their teams on pre-poll and post-poll coverage ethics 📣 𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 — 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭.