The Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITy) to immediately halt the delivery of Viksit Bharat messages on WhatsApp.
EC has asked the ministry to immediately submit the compliance report.
The commission had received several complaints that such messages highlighting the government’s initiatives are still being delivered on citizens’ phones despite the announcement of the general elections 2024 and the MCC (model code of conduct) entering into force.
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In response, MeitY had informed the commission that although the letters were sent out before MCC came into force, some of them could have possibly been delivered to recipients with a delay due to systemic and network limitations.
The move is a part of a series of decisions taken by the Commission to ensure a level-playing field.