New Delhi: The Department of Audio Visual Publicity (DAVP) on Monday issued an advisory to private TV channels, Doordarshan, FM radio channels, All India Radio as well as Community Radio Stations to not run 'Bharat Nirman' audio-visual spots after March 2. The advisory further added that channels should strictly adhere to this deadline as payments would not be made for audio-video spots telecast for the Bharat Nirman campaign beyond the deadline.
"The ministry has decided to wind up the campaign as there is likelihood that the model code of conduct can come in force in the coming days. The ministry has acted before the announcement as the intention was that there should be no chance that the code is violated even for a day," a senior official said.
The official added that the ministry had also taken a decision that it will stop issuance of more Bharat Nirman advertisements to print. The 'Bharat Nirman' advertisement campaign, was launched last year and was reported to run till April-May 2014, until the dates of the General Elections are being announced.
With the dates for the Lok Sabha polls likely to be announced soon, the UPA government has decided to bring to an end to its 'Bharat Nirman' publicity campaign.
The "Bharat Nirman" advertisement campaign, was launched by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting focusing on schemes such as the MGNREGA, National Rural Health Mission, direct cash transfer, etc. to highlight the work done by the UPA I and II governments in the ten years they have been in the power.
However, BJP had ridiculed the campaign by saying that the government should focus more on governance instead of going on an advertisement blitzkrieg. Reacting to it, the Congress defended the government's decision saying the campaign is being run through DAVP, which has the mandate to issue advertisements to the mass media. In 2004, the NDA government had run a similar campaign called 'India Shining'.
