EC orders MeitY to halt 'Viksit Bharat' messages via WhatsApp

The Election Commission (EC) has instructed the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to immediately cease the distribution of 'Viksit Bharat' messages via WhatsApp on March 21.

The EC has requested an immediate compliance report from MeitY. The directive came after several complaints were received by the Commission about these messages being delivered to citizens' phones even after the announcement of the General Elections 2024 and the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).

Meit Y had previously explained to the Commission that although these messages were dispatched before the enforcement of the MCC, some could have been delivered late due to systemic and network constraints.