Immediately stop sending Viksit Bharat WhatsApp messages: Election Commission to centre

New Delhi: Immediately stop sending Viksit Bharat messages on WhatsApp to the people, directed the Election Commission to Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

Apart from issuing the direction, the Election Commission has asked the ministry to file a compliance report on the matter.

The Commission issued the order to the centre after it received several complaints that such messages are still being delivered on citizens’ phones despite the announcement of the General Elections 2024 and the Mode Code of Conduct (MCC) entering into force.

In response, the 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 because of systemic and network limitations.

It is to be noted here that several WhatsApp users across the country received a PDF from ‘Viksit Bharat Sampark’ recently that has a letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioning government schemes like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Ayushman Bharat, Matru Vandana Yojana, etc, and seeking their feedbacks and suggestions.

Such Viksit Bharat WhatsApp messages had sparked political controversy with several opposition parties including Congress called it as a ‘political propaganda’ and part of PM Modi’s campaign for the upcoming General Elections, misusing govt database.

Dear @Meta,

This morning, Indian Citizens with WhatsApp has been getting an automated message from a “WhatsApp verified Business” named Viksit Bharat Sampark.

The message talks about taking feedback from Citizens, but the attached PDF is nothing but political propaganda. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/mzxYjYCsaD

— Congress Kerala (@INCKerala) March 16, 2024