"Paid news", or political advertisements disguised as journalism, should be an offence, the Election Commission today said."There is no law explaining paid news as an offence. We have made a proposal to the law ministry to make it an electoral offence," Chief Election Commissioner V Sampath said after announcing that national polls from April 7 to May 12.Mr Sampath had written to editors on March 1 cautioning them against publishing paid news, which he has described as the biggest threat to fair polls.In the 2009 election, many politicians were accused of using "paid news" to gain an edge over their rivals without overshooting the poll expenditure limit.In his letter to editors, Mr Sampath wrote, "A fair election is about ensuring a level playing field and keeping out undue influence."The Election Commission has pegged the paid news or political advertising market at around Rs.500 crore.

In November, the government introduced a draft law that prescribed suspending the licence of publications that publish paid content as news or analysis.