CUTTING ACROSS party lines, the Opposition on Sunday criticised the Centre for amending the Conduct of Election Rules to limit public inspection of election papers to only those documents specified in the provisions.
While the Congress called it part of a “systematic conspiracy to destroy the institutional integrity of the Election Commission of India”, others like the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Left parties accused the EC of “undermining multi-party democracy” by taking “unilateral” decisions without consulting all political parties.
Earlier, Rule 93 (2) (a) of the 1961 Conduct of Election Rules stated that “all other papers relating to the election shall be open to public inspection”. The amended version of the rule now states: “all other papers as specified in these rules relating to the election shall be open to public inspection.”
This amendment, according to government sources, would effectively clarify that electronic footage of the polling process is not covered within the definition of election papers and, hence, not open to public scrutiny.
“Modi Govt’s audacious amendment in the Conduct of Election Rules is another assault in its systematic conspiracy to destroy the institutional integrity of the Election Commission of India… Earlier, they had removed the Chief Justice of India from the selection panel which appoints Election Commissioners, and now they have resorted to stonewall(ing) electoral information, even after a High Court order,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said in a post on X.
“Every time the Congress party wrote to the ECI, regarding specific poll irregularities such as voter deletions and lack of transparency in EVMs, the ECI has responded in a condescending tone and chosen not to even acknowledge certain serious complaints… This again proves that the ECI, even though it is a quasi-judicial body, is not behaving independently,” he said.
“Modi Govt’s calibrated erosion of ECI’s integrity is a frontal attack on the Constitution and democracy and we will take every step to safeguard them,” Kharge said.
Samajwadi Party’s Rajya Sabha member Javed Ali Khan said the EC “has broken the tradition of holding consultations with political parties before making decisions”. “This shows its proximity to the ruling party; the ECI should go back to following the tradition of holding consultations with all political parties before making such decisions,” Khan told The Indian Express.
“The Indian elections must be free, fair and transparent. Citizens must have full faith in the electoral process. It is disturbing that the EC does not want to share poll documents. What is the EC trying to hide,” TMC’s Rajya Sabha member Sagarika Ghose said.
In a statement, the CPI(M) Politburo also expressed “its strong objection to the Modi government’s move to amend the Conduct of Election Rules”.
“Media reports suggest that the government held consultations with the Election Commission of India while drafting the new rules. However, the Election Commission’s reported concurrence was not preceded by any consultation with political parties, contrary to the established precedents over the years. The government’s argument, which questions the locus standi of the petitioner on the conduct of the electoral process, is specious. This approach completely excludes political parties’ involvement in the procedures to be followed,” it said.
The CPI(M) said the party’s “experience in the past, particularly during the Lok Sabha elections in Tripura, showed that charges of rigging led to the examination of videographic records within polling booths, ultimately resulting in repolls being announced in almost half the polling booths across both constituencies”.
“In this era, where technology is an integral part of the electoral process, the government’s move represents a retrograde step,” it said, and demanded “the immediate withdrawal of the proposed amendments to the Conduct of Election Rules”.
“The EC used to earlier hold consultations with political parties before taking such decisions, but now, it has become unilateral… By not consulting political parties, which are the main players, the EC is undermining multi-party democracy,” CPI’s D Raja said.
In a post on X, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi alleged a “chronology behind the Election Commission avoiding accountability”. “Advocate Mahmood Pracha had moved the Punjab & Haryana High Court asking for EC to provide copies of required documents including CCTV footage & copies of Form 17C part 1&2 related to Haryana election… Punjab & Haryana HC directs EC to make all the documents & footage public… EC urgently amends the electoral rules to make it clear that the papers would not include any documents or electronic records which have not been specified in the rules, making the HC decision redundant and also making a mockery of the entire electoral process,” she said.
Why should you buy our Subscription?
You want to be the smartest in the room.
You want access to our award-winning journalism.
You don’t want to be misled and misinformed.
Choose your subscription package
