EC issues notice to MP Cabinet Minister for paid news

NEW DELHI, Jan 17:
The Election Commission has issued a showcause notice for disqualification to Madhya Pradesh minister Narottam Mishra on alleged charges of incorrect statement of election expenditure incurred on news items in four dailies.
EC sources said explanation has been sought from Mishra, a Cabinet Minister for Public Health and Family Welfare, Housing, Parliamentary Affairs and Law, for expenses made by him during the 2008 Assembly elections.
The EC had conducted an investigation in this case after the losing candidate petitioned the Commission in this regard, and the EC found that articles related to Mishra had appeared in four newspapers of the state which were not a true account of his expenses, they said.
Mishra is an MLA from Datia.
The EC, in 2011, had disqualified a woman MLA from Uttar Pradesh under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act and the ‘paid news’ syndrome category. (PTI)