The Chief Election Commissioner Dr. S.Y. Qureshi has expressed serious concern over money power in election and paid news. Addressing an international conference on best electoral practices in New Delhi today Dr Qureshi said that while the Election Commission in India has been successful to quite an extent in dealing with muscle and incumbency power, the role of money power remains a big issue in Indian elections. He said it is the responsibility of the election management bodies to protect the sanctity of the election process from the vicious influences of money power. He said that the unofficial estimates suggest that the amount of money that is being spent in campaigning for votes is many times more than the permitted election expenditure whether it is for state or national elections. He also spelt out the steps taken by the Commission to check this trend. Describing paid news as a complex problem, Dr. Quresh said that there is circumstantial evidence of it but little proof. He said that it is basically political advertisement in the garb of news for a consideration of cash or kind and is intended to be suppressed from reporting in election expenditure. Expressing concern over the undue influence that paid news can create in the mind of the voters, Dr. Qureshi said this is misuse of media power and there is a need to intervene in the context of elections. He said that in the recent state assembly elections several candidates admitted to the charge and included expenditure on paid news in their returns. This was in response to 86 notices issued by the Commission. The Chief Election Commissioner emphasised the need to give priority to voters education to fill knowledge gap of voters. The conference has been organised on the eve of the launch of National Voters Day and valedictory function of the Diamond Jubilee celebration in New Delhi today. Over 30 heads of National Election Management Bodies and representatives of related international organisations are among those taking part in the conference.