Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday strongly criticized the Central government’s recent amendment in the election conduct rules and alleged that it undermines the integrity of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
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He said, “The Modi government’s audacious amendment to the election conduct rules is yet another attack in its systematic conspiracy to destroy the institutional integrity of the Election Commission of India. Earlier, it had removed the Chief Justice of India from the selection panel that decided the elections. appoints the commissioners, and now they have resorted to withholding election information even after the High Court order.”
Kharge said, “Whenever the Congress party wrote to the ECI about specific election irregularities like deletion of names from the voter list and lack of transparency in EVMs, the ECI responded in a derogatory tone and did not even accept some of the serious complaints. This again proves that the ECI, despite being a quasi-judicial body, is not behaving independently. The deliberate dismantling of the integrity of the ECI is a direct attack on the Constitution and democracy. Will take every step to protect them.”
This comes in the wake of the recent direction of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in the case Mahmood Pracha vs ECI, where the court ordered the sharing of all documents related to the Haryana Assembly elections, including CCTV footage, under Rule 93(2) of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961. Had ordered.
The amendment made by the Center now restricts public scrutiny of certain electronic documents, including CCTV footage, based on the recommendation of the ECI. The Union Law Ministry has recently amended Rule 93(2) to specify which documents are open to public inspection.
However, a senior Election Commission official clarified to ANI that the candidate already has access to all the documents and papers, and no amendment has been made to the rules in this regard.
The ECI official said that although the rule mentions “election papers”, it does not explicitly address electronic records. Ambiguity in the rule and concerns over potential misuse of CCTV footage inside polling stations, especially with advances in artificial intelligence, prompted an amendment to protect voter privacy and prevent its misuse.
The official stressed that sharing CCTV footage inside polling stations from sensitive areas like Jammu and Kashmir or Naxal-hit areas could compromise the security of voters. “Voters’ lives may be at risk, and the secrecy of voting must be protected,” the official said.
All other documents and papers relating to the election remain accessible for public inspection.