Manipur govt takes down CM website to follow Lok Sabha model code of conduct
HT could not independently ascertain if any content was removed from the website when it was temporarily restored on Tuesday
New Delhi: The Manipur chief minister Biren Singh’s office took down the CM’s official website on Tuesday to bring it in compliance with the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) implemented ahead of the Lok Sabha polls beginning next month.
The website was taken down at least twice on Tuesday –- in the afternoon and again in the evening. HT had not seen the website when it was taken down in the afternoon but in the evening, the link cmmanipur.gov.in said, “Website is Under Maintenance”. Until the time of publishing, the website had not been restored.
“The website has been temporarily suspended voluntarily by the Chief Minister’s Office so as to observe compliance with provisions of the Model Code of Conduct and not on account of any instructions of the ECI (Election Commission of India) for any violation,” a press statement from the chief minister’s secretariat said.
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An official from the chief minister’s office said that the website was taken down as a “precautionary measure”. “There was no particular content that prompted it. This was just routine maintenance to check if anything violated MCC. In previous elections, people have raised issues around the content on the CM’s website as being violative of the MCC,” this person said on the condition of anonymity.
HT could not independently ascertain if any content had been removed from the website when it was temporarily restored on Tuesday.
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A senior official from the Election Commission also confirmed to HT that neither the EC nor the state’s chief electoral officer (CEO) had issued any advisories or notices to Singh or the state government over the issue.