india

Updated: May 12, 2019 23:41 IST

The Election Commission on Sunday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not violate the Model Code of Conduct in the case when the Prime Minister’s Office asked district magistrates to send local information ahead of his visits, as the rules concerned were relaxed in October 7, 2014, months after the new government took over.

Deputy Election Commissioner Sandeep Saxena said the complaint, which was filed by the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party after a news report revealed that an email by the Niti Aayog has asked the state administration in Puducherry and Maharashtra to send to the PMO local area inputs ahead of Modi’s visits to these places, stood dismissed due to the relaxation.

“I’d like to clarify that the prime minister has got additional relaxation which was issued in 2014 wherein it was permitted that whenever the prime minister makes a visit, (while) for other ministers they cannot combine the electional-related visit with other official visits, the relaxation was given that the official or the personal visit (which includes) electioneering visit can be combined. So, in that regard, in the same visit, for that official visit, if any information had been called, it is found to be not a violation,” Saxena told reporters.