Justifying the ‘‘Bharat Udai’’ and ‘‘India Shining’’ advertisements, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ravi Shankar Prasad said today the NDA Government had every right to inform people of its achievements. Prasad has rubbed the EC the wrong way saying the EC took the decision not to permit political ads on TV channels. In New Delhi, in an apparent reference to the minister, the EC voiced ‘‘surprise and shock’’ over statements made by ‘‘certain ministers’’ on the ban on political advertisements in electronic media and said it was only implementing a law enacted by Parliament and had not taken a decision on its own. ‘‘There have been gross misstatements that the EC acted irresponsibly’’ on advertisements on electronic media and some ministers also made statements, a visibly upset CEC T.S. Krishnamurthy said while announcing the poll schedule at a press conference here. He said he was ‘‘surprised and shocked’’ to find such allegations The EC had only enforced a 1995 law, he said. ‘‘How are certain ministers making such statements? Even journalists did not verify facts,’’ he said.
