After the objection raised by Election Commission, the Government has removed the photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the minister for housing and urban poverty alleviation M Venkaiah Naidu from the website of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
The Election Commission on Wednesday said that Prime Minister's picture on Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna website violative of model code and ordered to remove it in the poll bound states including Uttar Pradesh.
In a letter written to the Cabinet Secretary on February 11, the Election Commission noted that the depiction of photos of the Prime Minister and the minister concerned from the website pmaymis.gov.in was a violation of the model code of conduct.
EC said that it also violates the instruction asking for withdrawal of all the references to ministers, politicians and political parties available on Central and state government websites. Thereafter, EC told the Cabinet Secretary to ensure that the pictures of Modi and Naidu were taken down immediately.
EC questioned why it was not done before given the fact that model code was in force since February 4. EC asked him to ensure that such photographs are not depicted on other government websites. The action was taken after EC received a complaint through e-mail that PM Awas Yojana website was promoting BJP in UP by displaying the pictures of PM Modi and minister Venkaiah Naidu.