New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi accused the Election Commission (EC) of destroying evidence after the poll body revised its guidelines on preserving video footage and photographs of elections. EC reduced the retention period to 45 days, The Indian Express (TIE) reported.
EC sources defended the decision, telling TIE that the change is in line with the time frame for candidates and electors to file a petition challenging an election, which is 45 days after the declaration of results.
According to the TIE report earlier, this timeframe ranged from three months to one year, depending on the poll process.
Rahul Gandhi wrote on X, It is clear – the match is fixed. And a fixed election is poison for democracy.”
The election revised its earlier guidelines from September 2024 on preserving video footage and photographs of elections. It reduced the retention period to 45 days after the declaration of results, and after that, the stored digital data can be destroyed if no election petition is filed. On May 30, the EC communicated the revision to the Chief Electoral officers of all states and Union territories, claiming some “recent misuse” of the said data. The poll body maintained that the visuals of the election process are not mandated by law but are used as an “internal management tool”.
Gandhi has been voicing his dissent over malpractices committed during the Maharashtra Assembly elections, after which the BJP came to power in the state last year.
Gandhi wrote on X, “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.”
EC sources claimed on Saturday that the release of footage of the election process breaches the privacy and security of voters, which is guaranteed by the Representation of the People Act.