‘Afraid of transparency’: Congress slams EC for tweaking election rule
The government has tweaked an election rule to prevent public inspection of certain electronic documents such as CCTV cameras and webcasting footage.
The Congress on Saturday slammed the Election Commission of India (ECI) for amending some rules linked to electronic documents, including inspection of CCTV footage, webcasting recordings and video footage of candidates.
Congress attributed the changes in rules to "the rapidly eroding integrity of the electoral process managed by the Election Commission".
The party also accused the election panel of undermining transparency in the electoral process.
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"If there was ever a vindication of our assertions regarding the rapidly eroding integrity of the electoral process managed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in recent times, this is it," Ramesh said in a post on X.
Sharing a December 20 notification, the Congress leader said, "This move of the ECI will be challenged legally right away."
"Why is the ECI so afraid of transparency?" the Congress general secretary asked.
What is the amendment that Congress attacked EC for
The government has tweaked an election rule to prevent public inspection of certain electronic documents such as CCTV cameras and webcasting footage as well as video recordings of candidates to prevent their misuse, reported PTI.
Based on the recommendation of the Election Commission (EC), the Union law ministry on Friday amended Rule 93(2)(a) of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, to restrict the type of "papers" or documents open to public inspection.
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According to Rule 93, all "papers" related to elections shall be open to public inspection. The amendment inserts "as specified in these rules" after "papers".
Law ministry and EC officials separately explained that a court case was the "trigger" behind the amendment.
While documents such as nomination forms, the appointment of election agents, results and election account statements are mentioned in the Conduct of Election Rules, electronic documents such as CCTV camera footage, webcasting footage and video recording of candidates during the Model Code of Conduct period are not covered, reported PTI.
An EC functionary told PTI: "There have been instances where such electronic records have been sought, citing the rules. The amendment ensures that only papers mentioned in the rules are available for public inspection and any other document which has no reference in the rules is not allowed for public inspection."
EC functionaries said the misuse of CCTV camera footage from inside polling booths could compromise voter secrecy. They also said the footage could be used to generate fake narratives using AI.
"All such material is available to candidates, including footage. After the amendment, too, it will be available to them. But other people can always approach the courts to get such electronic records," said another functionary.
(With inputs from PTI)
