Viksit Bharat WhatsApp messages: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to immediately stop sending 'Viksit Bharat' messages on WhatsApp. The Election Commission has also demanded a compliance report on this matter from the ministry.

The commission said it has received several complaints that despite the announcement of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), messages highlighting the central government's initiatives are still being sent to citizens' phones.

In response, MeitY informed the election body that although the messages were sent before the implementation of the MCC, some of them may have been received with a delay due to systemic and network limitations.

Let us tell you that this step of ECI is part of a series of decisions taken to ensure a level playing field in the upcoming national elections. MCC has come into force after the announcement of the Lok Sabha election schedule.

According to the ECI announcement on March 16, the elections will be held in seven phases from April 19 to June 1, and the results will be declared on June 4.