'Destroying evidence': Rahul Gandhi targets EC again; questions 45-day CCTV footage wipeout; poll body reacts
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
The poll body reacted saying that making webcasting footage of polling stations public violated privacy and security concerns of voters.
"Voter list? Will not provide machine-readable format. CCTV footage? It was hidden by changing the law. Photo-video of the election? Now, not in 1 year, we will destroy it in 45 days only. The one from whom the answer was needed - is destroying the evidence. It is clear - the match is fixed.
And a fixed election is poison for democracy," read a post by Rahul Gandhi on X.
EC officials argued that while such demands appeared to champion voter interest and democratic integrity, they were actually intended to achieve the "opposite objective".
What is presented as a reasonable and logical request directly contradicts voter privacy, legal provisions under the Representation of the People Acts of 1950 and 1951, and Supreme Court directives, PTI reported citing EC officials.
Officials warned that sharing the footage could allow easy identification of voters and non-voters, exposing them to potential pressure, discrimination, or intimidation by anti-social elements. Citing a possible scenario, officials further said that if a political party received fewer votes at a specific booth, it could use CCTV footage to identify who voted and who didn't—potentially leading to targeted harassment or intimidation of those individuals.
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
This came after the poll body directed its state units to erase CCTV and webcast footage of the polling process 45 days after the conclusion of elections. The EC cited concerns over potential "misuse" of video data, stating the footage would be deleted unless the election outcome is legally challenged within that period.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
19 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Rahul Gandhi alleges partnership between ECI and BJP
On the third day of 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi continued his attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI) accusing the poll body of having a partnership with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Mr. Gandhi, while addressing a public meeting at Bhagat Singh Chowk in Nawada, said, 'A partnership is ongoing between BJP and the Election Commission. They are stealing votes together. The Constitution has given the right to vote, which is being snatched by Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and the Election Commissioner.' He further said that the BJP, along with the Election Commission, has stolen votes in Maharashtra, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh. He alleged that in Maharashtra, between the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, the ECI created about 1 crore new voters. 'When we asked who these 1 crore new voters were, the ECI didn't have any answers. When we demanded videography, they changed the law. Now in Bihar, under the guise of SIR (Special Intensive Revision), the BJP and the Election Commission are stealing votes. We will not let them get away with vote theft, 'Mr. Gandhi said while accompanied by other leaders of the INDIA bloc. Explaining the impact of alleged vote-theft, Mr. Gandhi pointed out that first, voter cards will be taken away, then ration cards and lands will be given to Adani and Ambani. 'This country does not belong to a few industrialists. This country belongs to the youth, farmers, and small traders, but over here everything is done for them. So, we must come together to change these conditions,' Mr. Gandhi said. Before addressing the gathering, Mr. Gandhi asked one local farmer, Subodh Kuma,r to tell his story. He told Mr. Gandhi that his name had been removed from the draft rolls, though he had voted in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He also said that he was a polling agent in the Lok Sabha elections. Over his story, Mr. Gandhi reacted saying that there are many such voters whose name was there in the voter list and now removed. Tejashwi Yadav backs Rahul's claim Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav too alleged that ECI along with BJP engaged in snatching the voting rights. 'They are taking away the rights to vote, many names have been removed, and people who are alive have been declared dead. The people of Bihar will teach a lesson to this Khatra Sarkar (junk government) ruling the State for 20 years. My uncle Nitish Kumar ji is in an unconscious state and he is not able to control Bihar,' Mr. Yadav said. The Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Assembly asserted that the time has come to generate pace in the development of Bihar and uproot the present government by supporting Mahagathbandhan. 'We are young people with new visions and Tejashwi Yadav will take along all sections of people to make a new Bihar. PM Modi has cheated the youths of Bihar, and this copycat government is making an announcement of whatever I had promised,' Mr. Yadav said. Rahul for PM: Tejashwi He also asked the gathering to vote for Mr. Gandhi in the next Lok Sabha election to make him the Prime Minister. Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) Chief Mukesh Sahani and Communist Party of Indian (Marxist-Leninist) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya while addressing the crowd said that conspiracy is going on to remove the names of genuine voters from the voter list in poll bound Bihar. Earlier in the day, Mr. Gandhi resumed the Yatra from Punama and on the way, Mr. Gandhi got down from the car at Wazirganj and met school children. The supporters were continuously chanting slogans against SIR blaming, Election Commission of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). They shouted slogans of 'Vote Chor Gaddi Chhodd' (Vote thief, leave the throne).
India Today
19 minutes ago
- India Today
Expert deletes post on Maharashtra voters amid 'vote chori' row, faces BJP fire
Prominent psephologist and co-director of Lokniti-CSDS, Sanjay Kumar, has ignited a political storm after deleting a post on X where he reported a massive surge in voter numbers in two Maharashtra assembly constituencies—Nashik West and Hingna—between the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. Kumar shared the data that was seen as lending credence to the Congress' allegations of 'vote chori' (vote theft) in Maharashtra, which has been amplified by its leader Rahul shared the data in a post on X on August 17 but went on to delete it. He claimed voter increases of 47.38% in Nashik West and 43.08% in Hingna."I sincerely apologise for the tweets posted regarding Maharashtra elections. Error occurred while comparing data of 2024 Lok Sabha and 2024 Assembly. The data in row was misread by our Data team. The tweet has since been removed. I had no intention of dispersing any form of misinformation. The incident has amplified the ongoing controversy over alleged voter roll manipulation, which the Congress claims was carried out in collusion with the Election Commission and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP, in turn, slammed Kumar as "reckless" and accused him of fuelling the Opposition's narrative of electoral leader Amit Malviya has said that "it was hardly an honest error"."In his exuberance to feed the Congress's fake narrative on Maharashtra, CSDS put out data without verification. That is not analysis — it is confirmation bias. It's time we start taking the sanctimonious sermons of the likes of Sanjay Kumar and Yogendra Yadav with not just a pinch, but a sack of salt," Malviya posted on Congress-led Opposition has been alleging manipulation of electoral rolls amid the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision exercise in Bihar ahead of the Assembly election in the state later this year. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been alleging electoral fraud in Maharashtra since the INDIA bloc's drubbing in the state in the Assembly polls in a press conference on August 7, Rahul Gandhi used data from the Mahaevpura Assembly segment in Kanataka to allege manipulation of electoral rolls by the Election Commission at the BJP's behest. He termed it "vote chori" or theft of votes to benefit the BJP, and showcased it as an example of the "fraud" being committed across Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on August 17 held a press conference where he refuted the "vote chori" claims without naming Rahul Kumar's post on X with the data on Maharashtra came on August 17, just after the CEC's press conference, going by the screenshot being shared. This data from a psephologist gave ammunition to the Opposition, especially the Congress, to counter the EC officials.- EndsMust Watch
Hindustan Times
19 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Psephologist Sanjay Kumar apologises for Maharashtra voter data ‘error', BJP reacts
Political analyst and psephologist Sanjay Kumar on Tuesday apologised for his post on Maharashtra elections, which reported a considerable fall in voter numbers in two assembly seats compared to the recent Lok Sabha elections. Lokniti-CSDS co-director Sanjay Kumar apologises for Maharashtra voter data error in two assembly constituencies.(X-@sanjaycsds) He said an error occurred while comparing 2024 Lok Sabha and assembly election data, attributing it to a misread row by the data team. 'I sincerely apologize for the tweets posted regarding Maharashtra elections. Error occurred while comparing data of 2024 LS and 2024 AS. The data in row was misread by our Data team. The tweet has since been removed. I had no intention of dispersing any form of misinformation,' Lokniti-CSDS co-director wrote on X (formerly Twitter). Reacting to Kumar's apology, BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya accused him of consistently misrepresenting election projections to favour Congress, calling the Maharashtra data a case of 'confirmation bias.' 'The apology is in, and Sanjay Kumar is out. Incidentally, when was the last time this protégé of Yogendra Yadav ever got anything right? In all his projections in the run-up to every single election, the BJP is supposedly losing—and when the reverse happens, he turns up on TV justifying how the BJP won. Convenient. He must think TV audiences are fools,' Malviya wrote on X. 'In this instance too, it was hardly an honest error. In his exuberance to feed Congress's fake narrative on Maharashtra, CSDS put out data without verification. That is not analysis—it is confirmation bias. It's time we start taking the sanctimonious sermons of the likes of Sanjay Kumar and Yogendra Yadav with not just a pinch, but a sack of salt,' he added. In another post, Malviya slammed Rahul Gandhi, saying the data he relied on to attack Maharashtra voters has now been admitted as incorrect, covering both the state and SIR. 'So, what is the position of Rahul Gandhi and the Congress now, which shamelessly targeted the Election Commission and even called genuine voters fake? Shameful,' Malviya wrote on X. 'Rahul Gandhi should immediately abandon his 'Intruder Protection Journey' in Bihar and offer an unconditional apology to the people of India for his irresponsible and regressive politics,' he added.
