Election Commission Orders Halt to 'Viksit Bharat' WhatsApp Message by Centre

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology was instructed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday to stop sending out "Viksit Bharat" messages via WhatsApp right away.

It has also asked the government for a compliance report right now.

Government Projects Promoted Despite Election Code Implementation

The European Commission (EC) has received many complaints alleging that, even with the announcement of the Election Commission of India (ECI) 2024 and the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), individuals are still receiving such messages promoting the government's projects on their phones.

MeitY responded by telling the commission that while the letters were sent out prior to MCC becoming into effect, there was a chance that some of them were sent to recipients later than expected due to network and system issues.

The action is a part of the commission's set of measures meant to guarantee fairness in the Lok Sabha elections.

The EC replaced "non-cadre" district magistrates and superintendents of police in many states earlier today, and it also moved district police heads, who are related to well-known politicians, from Assam and Punjab.

Electoral Body Replaces Non-Cadre DMs and SPs

District magistrates (DMs) and superintendents of police (SPs) who are not cadre members have been replaced, according to the electoral body, because these positions are intended for IAS and IPS personnel.

According to the EC, it has taken a firm stand against the appointment of non-cade officers to leadership roles by removing five non-cadered DMs and eight non-cadered SPs/SSPs from West Bengal, Gujarat, Punjab, and Odisha.

It further said that SSP Bathinda (Punjab) and SP Sonitpur (Assam) had been relocated, along with any other locations where relatives of well-known politicians were in control as DM or SP.

The officials in these two districts were moved, according to the EC, as a "pre-emptive measure" to allay any concerns about the administration's apparent partiality or corruption.