Rahul cries foul as EC revises poll footage guidelines, body cites privacy concerns

The ongoing tussle between Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and the Election Commission (EC) took another turn on Saturday, after the Raebareli MP hit out at the poll panel for revising its guidelines on preserving video footage and pictures of elections, and reducing the retention period to 45 days.The Election Commission, on its part, said, “Sharing the footage would enable easy identification of electors by any group or individual. This would leave both the elector who has voted as well the elector who has not voted vulnerable to pressure, discrimination and intimidation by anti-social elements.”

In a post on X, Gandhi wrote: “The one, from whom the answer was needed, is destroying the evidence. It is clear that the match is fixed; and a fixed election is poison for democracy.”

The poll panel had revised its earlier guidelines, issued in September 2024, on preserving video footage and photographs of elections. The EC reduced the retention period of these visuals to 45 days after the declaration of results, after which the data can be destroyed, if no election petition (EP) is filed.

Citing the “recent misuse” of such material, the Election Commission had informed chief electoral officers of all states and UTs about the revised guidelines on May 30.

The poll panel had emphasised that videography and photography of the election process were not mandated by law, but were used as an “internal management tool”.

In a post on X, Gandhi, who has been levelling allegations of irregularities in the Maharashtra Assembly elections last year, said, “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 one year, we will destroy it in 45 days.”

Meanwhile, the commission sources said calls for public release of footage might be politically motivated, aiming to harass or profile voters, especially in booths where a party performs poorly.

Earlier this month, the Congress leader had also demanded that the EC publish consolidated, digital and machine-readable voter rolls for the most recent elections to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas of all states, including Maharashtra, and release post-5 pm CCTV footage from Maharashtra polling booths.

The Congress leader has accused the BJP of rigging the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections through a five-step process, including tampering with the Election Commission and inflating voter turnout.

However, the EC sources indicated that safeguarding the interests of its electors and maintaining their privacy and secrecy was of prime concern for the poll panel, even if some of the political parties try and mount pressure on the commission to abandon the laid down procedures or to ignore the security concerns of the voters.

They further indicated that maintaining privacy and secrecy of the elector was non-negotiable and the EC had never compromised on this essential tenet laid down in the law as well upheld by the Supreme Court.

The poll body in a point-by-point rebuttal to the Leader of the Opposition said sharing videos could expose people who skipped voting for any reason. Cameras at polling booths could show who came and who didn’t. This could be misused for profiling, putting pressure or even denial of services.

The Supreme Court has also ruled that “not voting” was a personal choice, and keeping it secret was just as important as keeping your vote secret.

Another source in the poll body said the video footage was similar to Form 17A, which records voter details. That form is highly protected, and so should be the video.

Furthermore, revealing who voted or didn’t without legal permission is against the law and can lead to jail time or fines under the RP Act, the sources added.

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