dir="ltr">Can governments of the day advertise their accomplishments at the cost of public exchequer before elections are notified? The question needs to be answered at two levels.

dir="ltr">The recent enforcement of a ban on political advertisements on television raised some controversy. The Election Commission (EC) and the Union Government are busy throwing blame on each other for this ban. Irrespective of who is right, or wrong, this ban raises several fundamental questions about our democracy and nature of political campaigning. We need to address and resolve them speedily.