Gujarat pulls economic data from website before Lok Sabha elections

New Delhi: Gujarat led by Narendra Modi, whose party leads in polls to win general elections starting next month, has blocked access to official economic data on its website during the campaign.

The directorate of economic statistics in Gujarat, the state Modi has run since 2001, has removed access to publications detailing the state’s budget, census and economic growth data, R.N. Pandya, the agency’s director, said by phone from the state capital of Gandhinagar. “Keeping them available may violate the election commission’s code of conduct,” he said.

While the code doesn’t specify each and every item to be removed, the agency took the action to avoid violating stipulations that ban promoting the state government’s achievements, Pandya said in a phone interview. “It is like ethics: not everything is written in black and white.”

The data, which is still available through search engines when the report names are entered, could be used for comparison against Modi’s campaign message of economic success during his tenure leading Gujarat. Polls show Bharatiya Janata Party winning the most seats in elections starting 7 April while falling short of a majority.

 “Gujarat is the first state to have acknowledged blocking access to economic data on its web pages during the campaign period,” said Jagdeep Chhokar, founder of Association for Democratic Reforms, a New Delhi-based group monitoring the elections. The state has outpaced the national economic growth rate in 11 of the past 12 financial years, according to data on the website accessed through putting the report name into a search engine. “I have not heard of any other state doing this, but other states are not as sensitive because they do not have a prime ministerial candidate,” Chhokar said, referring to the decision to remove economic data. “Removing the information raises some questions about the motives for doing so and doubts that the information could be misused.”

“The election commission’s code of conduct is meant to prevent incumbents from using government resources to gain an unfair advantage over challengers,” said Anita Karwal, chief electoral officer for the organization in Gujarat. It forbids ministers and government authorities from announcing financial grants, starting government programmes or promising new roads and water supply to the electorate.

 “We do not ask the departments what they have removed and what they have not removed,” Karwal said by phone from Ahmedabad in Gujarat, without commenting directly on whether it’s necessary for the state government to remove economic data. “If we get a complaint, we will look into it.” Rajesh Malhotra, spokesman for the Election Commission of India, deferred comment to the agency’s unit in Gujarat. Jagdish Thakkar, a spokesman for the Gujarat state government, did not answer calls to his mobile phone. Three calls to Modi’s office were also not answered.

Prakash Javadekar, a BJP spokesman, deferred comment to state officials in Gujarat.

The election commission’s code of conduct has created confusion among other official bodies, including the central bank. The Reserve Bank of India asked the commission earlier this month whether it could approve new bank permits during the campaign period. The agency has yet to make a decision. The documents on Gujarat’s website include statistics on inflation, transportation, literacy, slums, irrigation and other socio-economic indicators. BLOOMBERG

 

pratima kumari

pgdm2nd sem