The period of election silence kicked in on Tuesday, April 9, at 5 pm. Less than 24 hours before the first phase of the 2019 General Election is set to begin, NaMo TV is still beaming pre-recorded speeches made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

As of this morning, the speech being broadcast was about how Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana has benefitted people.

In violation of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s directives, NaMo TV is still being broadcast on three channels on Tata Sky. It is available on 324 (under Hindi movies), on 145 (under Hindi entertainment) and on channel no 512 (Hindi news).

The Election Commission’s Model Code of Conduct disallows campaigning in any form in the poll-bound constituencies by political parties during this silent period.

So far, the Election Commission has not initiated any action against the DTH operator or NaMo TV for violating the ‘election silence’ period.

Citing sources, the Indian Express reported that the Election Commission has decided to add expenses incurred on advertising on NaMo TV to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s expenditure account for Lok Sabha elections. “The Commission will also write to the office of the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer to direct its Media Certification and Monitoring Commission to check whether political content aired on NaMo TV has been pre-certified, and the channel will also be monitored for any violation of the Model Code of Conduct,” the report added.

NaMo TV, a channel named after Modi, has been at the centre of controversy. You can read more about the channel here.