Rahul Gandhi / Should CCTV footage of mother and sisters be shared? ECI's reply to Rahul's question

Rahul Gandhi vs EC: The Election Commission held a press conference on Sunday to respond to the allegations of 'vote theft' levelled by the opposition and questions raised on the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in Bihar. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar clarified that the Election Commission is impartial and for them there is no party or opposition, but all are equal.

Violation of voters' privacy

Gyanesh Kumar said, "A few days ago we saw that the pictures of many voters were made public in the media without their permission. Allegations were made against them and they were misused. Should the Election Commission make public the CCTV videos of any voter, be it a mother, daughter-in-law, or daughter? Only those included in the voter list cast their vote to elect their candidate."

Question of constitutional insult

He further said, "If the errors in the voter lists are not shared in time, if the election petition is not filed in the High Court within 45 days, and then an attempt is made to mislead the public by using wrong words like 'vote theft', then what else is this if not an insult to the Constitution of India?" He called making the photos, names and identities of voters public a violation of their privacy.

Strict warning to Rahul Gandhi

The Election Commission gave a strict message to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, saying that he has 7 days to file an affidavit, otherwise his allegations will be considered false. The Commission said, "Rahul Gandhi should either give an affidavit or apologize, there is no third option."

Rahul Gandhi's allegations

Rahul Gandhi had recently alleged that CCTV and video evidence of polling booths were being destroyed. He had raised questions as to why the opposition is not being given digital voter list, why fake voting and manipulation of voter list is happening, and why opposition leaders are being intimidated. He had also asked whether the Election Commission has now become an agent of BJP?

Commission's response on CCTV footage

Responding to these allegations, the Election Commission said, "It will take one lakh days, i.e. 273 years, to review the CCTV footage of one lakh polling booths, which has no legal consequences. CCTV footage is kept safe in case a candidate files a petition against the election, otherwise there is no point in keeping it."