New Delhi: The Election Commission has asked officials overseeing the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme to refrain from distributing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personalised letters to beneficiaries while the model code of conduct is in effect.
Officially known as the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), the scheme is implemented by the National Health Authority (NHA), led by the Union Health & Family Welfare Minister, at the central level, and by state health authorities regionally.
Beneficiaries of the scheme receive letters from the prime minister when they register, addressed to them and written in their language.
According to highly-placed government sources, several state health authorities had asked the NHA to clarify guidelines vis-a-vis the issue of e-cards and distribution of the PM’s personalised letters for the duration of the code of conduct.
“It was a gray area,” an official involved in the scheme told ThePrint. “The generation of e-cards at this point of time and issuing of PM’s personalised letters to the beneficiaries could have been misconstrued in the absence of clear guidelines.”
Election Commission sources told ThePrint that the NHA informally consulted the poll watchdog, which directed it to refrain from distributing the personalised letters.
“We are not distributing the letters now,” an NHA official said. “However, there is no bar on the issuing of e-cards, which are non-political and part of an ongoing scheme.”
Another official said the PM’s picture had been removed from e-cards in light of the code.
Also read: Why Model Code of Conduct for elections cannot act against offending politicians
Social media confusion
With the model code kicking in earlier this month, government officials are also said to be confused over the use of social media to post updates on schemes started by the Narendra Modi government, as well as their milestones.
On 19 March, when PM-JAY CEO Indu Bhushan made a post about the scheme on Twitter, dishing out some statistics, Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’ Brien implied that it was a violation of the code of conduct.
Election guidelines ? Election code? Unbelievable. CEO of Ayushman Bharat merrily tweeting away. Election Commission please … @SpokespersonECI https://t.co/gn6kEVTAjV
— Derek O'Brien | ডেরেক ও'ব্রায়েন (@derekobrienmp) March 19, 2019
Talking to ThePrint, a senior bureaucrat said there was a “sea change between how bureaucrats used social media in 2014 and now”.
According to the official, most government functionaries were active on social media these days and liked to post updates about the schemes they are handling.
This trend has been encouraged by the current dispensation, but “amid the lack of clear guidelines… on what updates to post and what not, it is difficult to construe which update will be construed as a violation [of the model code]”, a senior state health authority official said.
Approached by ThePrint for comment, an Election Commission source said while the code was in effect, government officials were expected not to use social media or other platforms to publicise new policy developments or any initiative that may influence the public.
“If they have doubts, officials can check with the Election Commission from time to time on what construes a violation [of the model code],” the source added.
Also read: How Narendra Modi’s Ayushman Bharat is fighting India’s health emergency
The ECI should make its presence felt, err on the side of caution.