The Election Commission (EC) on Thursday directed the Centre to immediately stop delivering bulk WhatsApp messages to people under the "Viksit Bharat Sampark" initiative to highlight the government's achievements. The direction was issued to the Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, after the Commission received complaints about the matter.  In another other, the EC has also transferred district police chiefs in Assam and Punjab, including the brother of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and shunted out "non-cadre" district magistrates and superintendents of police in some states. The Commission said the non-cadre district magistrates (DMs) and superintendent of police (SPs) have been shunted out as the posts are meant for IAS and IPS officers.

 "The move is a part of a series of decisions taken by the Commission to ensure a level-playing field," the Commission said in its order on ‘WhatsApp messages on Vikshit Bharat Sampark’.

Asking the government to ensure there is "no further delivery" of the bulk WhatsApp messages to people, the Commission sought an "immediate" compliance report on the matter from the ministry. The ministry had informed the Commission that the messages along with a letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi were sent before the Model Code of Conduct came into force on March 16 with the announcement of Lok Sabha poll schedule.

"... Due to system architecture and network limitations it is possible that some letters have a delayed delivery," the ministry said in a communication to the Commission. The EC had received several complaints that such messages highlighting the government's initiatives were being delivered on citizens' phones despite the announcement of parliamentary elections 2024 and the MCC coming into force.

The Congress and the Trinamool Congress had raised objections to the message and requested the Election Commission to act against this "blatant violation" of the Model Code of Conduct. On Tuesday, the Chandigarh Chief Electoral Officer had referred to the Election Commission for "appropriate action" a complaint regarding bulk WhatsApp messages.

According to an official statement on Tuesday, after examination of the complaint, the district media certification and monitoring committee found prima facie evidence of a violation of the Model Code of Conduct. The complaint was received through the cVIGIL mobile application of the poll panel.

In a separate order issued on Thursday, the EC said it has adopted a tough stance against posting of non-cadre officers at leadership positions by transferring eight non-encadred SPs/SSPs and five non-encadred DMs in Punjab, Odisha, Gujarat and West Bengal.

It said some officials were transferred in view of their kinship or familial association with the elected political representatives, adding SSP Bathinda (Punjab) and SP Sonitpur (Assam) have been transferred.

Officials pointed out that while SP Sonitpur Sushanta Biswa Sarma is the brother of state chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, SSP Bhatinda Harnanbir Singh Gill is the brother of Congress MP from Khadoor Sahib Jasbir Singh Gill.

The EC said the officials in these two districts have been transferred as a "pre-emptive measure" to dispel any apprehensions of administration being biased or perceived to be compromised. The move comes ahead of the seven-phase Lok Sabha polls starting April 19.

Earlier, the poll body had ordered removal of home secretaries in six states for holding dual charge in the office of their respective chief ministers. It had also transferred the West Bengal DGP to a non election related post. The decision on transfers was taken after the Commission convened a meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar along with Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu.

The officers to be transferred include SP of Chhota Udaipur and Ahmedabad Rural districts Gujarat; SSP of Pathankot, Fazilka, Jalandhar Rural and Malerkotla districts in Punjab.

Similarly, DM of Dhenkanal and SPs of Deogarh and Cuttack Rural districts in Odisha have also been removed along with DM of Purba Medinipur, Jhargram, Purba Bardhaman and Birbhum districts of West Bengal.  Under the directive, all respective state governments have been instructed to promptly transfer non-encadred officers from their current roles as DM and SP/SSP, with immediate effect, and submit a compliance report to the Commission.