- Saturday, May 18, 2024
The message sent to millions of people over WhatsApp highlighted the government’s policies and schemes and sought people’s feedback.
By: Shubham Ghosh
IN a step towards ensuring the model code of conduct which came into force as soon as the schedule of the general elections of 2024 was announced on March 16, the Election Commission of India has asked the Narendra Modi government to “immediately halt” the ‘Viksit Bharat’ (developed India) message being sent to millions of people over WhatsApp.
The panel asked the Indian ministry of electronics and information technology to submit a compliance report immediately.
The commission received several complaints about the model code being flouted by the government by sending the messages. The ministry told the panel that the messages that contain a letter from prime minister Narendra Modi were sent out on March 15, the day before the code came into effect, and that some of them could have been delivered with a delay due to “system architecture and network limitations”.
Read: UAE residents, including Pakistanis, surprised to receive India elections 2024 message from Modi
Elections in India will kick off on April 19 and continue till June 1 in a seven-phase affair. The results will be declared on June 4.
The message sent to people highlighted various policies and schemes of the Modi government and it also sought feedback and suggestions from the recipients. The handle from which the messages were sent has a green tick and it described itself as: “Viksit Bharat Sampark is an ongoing initiative of the Government of India for evaluation of the flagship schemes and improvement in its implementation and delivery.”
Read: General election in India, world’s largest democracy: All you need to know
It was reported that many people in the UAE, including Indian expatriates, Britons, Emiratis and even Pakistanis had received the messages which left them clueless. There were allegations of breaching private data. An opposition MP in India alleged that government machinery was being misused for the purpose of electoral propaganda.
The commission has made it clear that it will do everything within its means to deal with four ‘M’ challenges — muscle, money, misinformation and model code violations — to ensure that the 2024 elections are free and fair.
