EC Orders Centre To Stop Sending “Viksit Bharat’ Messages On WhatsApp After Model Code of Conduct Implementation

The Election Commission on Thursday gave the Center instructions to stop sending out WhatsApp messages to individuals as part of the “Viksit Bharat Sampark” campaign, which aims to showcase the accomplishments of the administration.

Following concerns about the issue from the Commission, the Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology was given the directive.

“The move is a part of a series of decisions taken by the Commission to ensure a level-playing field,” the Commission said.

Seeking a “immediate” compliance report on the subject from the ministry, the Commission asked the government to guarantee that there is “no further delivery” of WhatsApp messages to individuals.

The messages and a letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi were sent prior to the Model Code of Conduct taking effect on March 16 when the timetable for the Lok Sabha elections was announced, the ministry had notified the Commission.

“… due to system architecture and network limitations it is possible that some letters have a delayed delivery,” the ministry said in a communication to the Commission.

The EC had received multiple complaints that, in spite of the announcement of the 2024 parliamentary elections and the implementation of the MCC, residents’ phones were receiving these kinds of messages promoting the government’s plans.

The Election Commission was asked to take action against this “blatant violation” of the Model Code of Conduct after the Congress and the Trinamool Congress voiced their disapproval of the message.

The Chandigarh Chief Electoral Officer filed a complaint about bulk WhatsApp messages on Tuesday and forwarded it to the Election Commission for “appropriate action”.

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