The Congress on Saturday said it would legally challenge an amendment made to an election rule, asking why the poll panel was afraid of transparency.
The Union law ministry, based on the recommendations of the Election Commission, amended Rule 93 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, to restrict the type of "papers" or documents open to public inspection.
"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," Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.
"This move of the ECI will be challenged legally right away,” he said.
How the rule amended
Rule 93 of the Conduct of Election Rules states that all "papers" related to elections shall be open to public inspection. The government amended Rule 93(2)(a) to restrict the type of "papers" or documents open to public inspection.
The amendment inserted the phrase “as specified in these rules” after “papers”.
According to reports, the rule was tweaked to prevent public inspection of certain electronic documents such as CCTV cameras and webcasting footage as well as video recordings of candidates.
Why the rule tweaked
The government clarifies that the amendment was aimed at preventing the possible misuse of these documents.
"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,” an EC functionary told news agency PTI.
According to EC officials, the misuse of CCTV camera footage from inside polling booths could compromise voter secrecy. Also, there are chances that this footage could be used to create fake narratives using AI technology.
According to the law ministry, all election papers and documents were still available for public inspection.