Taking strong cognizance, the Election Commission of India on Saturday issued a notice to the Ministry of Railways in connection with a viral picture of tea being served in Shatabdi train in ‘Main Bhi Chowkidar’ cups. The Poll panel has asked the Ministry of Railways to furnish a reply within a day.
The Issue came into limelight after social media users reported that tea in the Shatabdi Express was being served in glasses having BJP‘s and PM Narendra Modi campaign on it.
Responding on the outrage, The poll body has asked the Railway Ministry to file a reply by today evening for alleged violation of the model code of conduct.
READ: Modi’s speech on Mission Shakti does not violate Moral Code of Conduct, says EC
However, soon after the incident, the Indian Railways withdrew the glasses and penalized the contractor by imposing a fine of Rs. 1 lakh. Issuing a clarification, the railways stated that it was an unintentional ‘mistake’.
Reportedly, Tea in those cups was served not once but twice. The Advertisement in the cup carried the name of NGO ‘Sankalp Foundation’ along with PM Modi’s campaign ‘Main Bhi Chowkidaar’.
This is not the first time in a run-up to the next month’s poll. Earlier, The Indian Railway has printed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image on the back side of the tickets with Model Code of Conduct into place.
The advertisement in the Railway tickets was a part of publicity by the Union Housing Ministry and highlighted the BJP-led Central Government‘s flagship programme Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and carried a picture of PM Narendra Modi.
However, The Indian has last week withdrawn the tickets having PM Modi’s image on it.
The EC in the matter today issued the second notice to Indian Railways.
The Model Code of Conduct came into force on March 10 when the poll panel has announced the dates and schedule for the mega Lok Sabha Elections 2019.
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