JD-U smells paid news in TV coverage to Cong first family

The comprehensive television coverage to members of Congress' first family during election campaign in Uttar Pradesh has drawn the ire of Janata Dal United, which smells a "paid news" syndrome behind it.

A delegation of Janta Dal United on Wednesday met Chief Election Commissioner S Y Qureshi and requested him to look into the matter.

After the meeting, JD-U general secretary K C Tyagi told PTI that the party has complained to the EC regarding the excess focus by TV channels on Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Robert Vadra.

"We consider it an issue of paid news. This should be stopped. Every political party should get coverage," Tyagi said.

Tyagi was accompanied by senior leader Shivanand Tiwari and another general secretary Javed Raza.

"For the last few days, only the visits and speeches of Priyanka, Rahul and Vadra are streaming on television. Are there no other political leaders in the campaigning from other parties? We have asked the Election Commission to probe whether it is paid news," Raza said.

The JD-U delegation also asked the Election Commission to restore the Z security to its President Sharad Yadav alleging that it had been withdrawn soon after Yadav raised the issue of 2G and spoke against Home Minister P Chidambaram on it.

Citing a recent incident in which a group of people tried to forcibly meet Yadav at midnight in Lucknow, the party said nothing can be ruled out in the heat of elections and the government should be held responsible if any untoward incident happens with their party chief.

They also complained to the Election Commission that its candidate Manveer Tewatia, the jailed farmer leader from Bhatta Parsaul, was not allowed by the UP administration to open a bank account to file his nomination paper on Wednesday and urged the EC to ensure fair play into the matter.