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I've finally had a chance to catch up with the EC's reasons for saying the Modi ASAT test televised address was not a violation of the Model Code of Conduct (eci.gov.in/mcc/). The EC's decision is flawed and illogical, as I shall explain below. 1/n
The MCC is badly drafted & full of loopholes but Modi tom-tomming a sarkari achievement in election season would still appear to fall foul of two provisions: VII(4) on misuse of official media and VII(6)(b) which bars "laying foundation stones etc... of schemes of any kind". 2/n
In probing complaints that Modi violated the MCC by (1) publicising the ASAT test in election season & (2) making the announcement himself, the EC ignored the spirit of the MCC and looked very narrowly only at VII(4). It also ignored VII(6)(b) completely. 3/n 
The EC cleared Modi by saying the recording was done by ANI and not DD, hence this was not "official media". But the EC's probe may be flawed: the well-informed @amritanayak3 reports that DD recorded Modi but dropped its logo to avoid violating MCC. theprint.in/india/governan… 4/n
Even if we set that issue aside, the EC, by using the ANI alibi to clear him, all but concedes that Modi's address indeed amounted to "publicity regarding achievements with a view to furthering prospects of party in power". But since DD didn't film it, VII(4) wasn't broken! 5/n
The fact that Modi went out of his way to get the private ANI to record an important official address confirms that even he knew the speech he was going to make amounted to "publicity regarding achievements with a view to furthering the prospects of the party in power". 6/n
Now, surely what the MCC is trying to ban is not misuse of official media to generate publicity regarding achievements but misuse of media in general to generate undue, advantageous publicity for the ruling party. Here, it is clear Modi deliberately sought to evade the MCC. 7/n
Turning to VII(6)(b), an ASAT test is not a "foundation stone" for a "scheme" but the MCC wording is "foundation stone etc" for "schemes of any kind". The language was deliberately kept broad to include the full gamut of sarkari activities that might lure voters. 8/n
If India's national interest required conducting the ASAT test when it was, and also required that an announcement be made when it was, this should have been done, as per the MCC, by a "civil servant" and not Modi or even the Raksha Mantri, who is the line minister for DRDO. 9/n
The fact that EC allowed @narendramodi to blatantly violate the MCC was an omen of what is to follow. His appeal to the religion of Hindu voters at Wardha is a straight-up 'corrupt practice' under §123(3) of the Representation of People Act. But don't expect the EC to act. 10/10
