Crackdown on Indian political ads

The prime minister has been targeted

India's Supreme Court has banned the televising of political advertisements which offend the moral or religious sensibilities of viewers.

The ruling follows the recent broadcast of a series of TV commercials attacking the reputation of senior politicians.

Targets have included Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and opposition leader Sonia Gandhi.

Elections begin later this month to elect a new federal government and last for some three weeks.

"No channel or cable operator can broadcast any political advertisements that are not in conformity with the laws, offend religious feelings of the viewer or which are shocking, disgusting or revolting," the supreme court said in its ruling.

It also asked India's Election Commission to monitor the broadcast of political advertisements.

Surrogate advertising

The court was acting on a petition by the Indian government challenging a previous ruling by a lower court allowing the broadcast of political advertisements.

That move followed concerns that surrogate advertisements were being used to make personal attacks on rival political leaders.

The more the personal attacks the better for us. The people of India have their own minds and they will make a choice Sonia Gandhi

In recent weeks, a series of advertisements have been aired on Indian television channels, targeting Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and opposition leader Sonia Gandhi.

The advertisements were described as "public service announcements" credited to non-government trusts which are believed to be acting on behalf of major political parties.

Both leading national parties, the governing BJP and the opposition Congress, have been running a hi-tech campaign on television, mobile telephones and on the internet.

Congress is hoping to oust the BJP and correspondents believe the campaign is likely to get very dirty.

The Election Commission has appealed to candidates to keep their campaign clean and has called an all-party meeting next week to discuss the issue.

Heat and dust

Both parties are campaigning hard for the first phase of the vote on 20 April.

Opposition leader Sonia Gandhi is in the western state of Maharashtra, where the Congress has tied up with a powerful local partner, the Nationalist Congress Party.

Together they are hoping to challenge the BJP and its own local ally, the ultra-national Shiv Sena party.

"The more the personal attacks the better for us. The people of India have their own minds and they will make a choice," she said during a campaign rally.

Senior BJP leader and deputy prime minister LK Advani is in Rajasthan as part of a nationwide road show.

On Friday he described illegal immigration as a major problem which had reached "horrific proportions".

"No other country faces this problem to the magnitude that India does," the Press Trust of India quoted him as saying.