Civic groups petition EC on publishing draft voters' list in PDF image format

Many organisations including United Bengaluru, Citizens Action Forum, and Namma Bengaluru Foundation have filed a petition against the draft electoral rolls that has been published on the website of Chief Electoral Officer on Monday.

Petition was submitted to Sanjiv Kumar, Chief Electoral Officer. Draft electoral rolls has been uploaded on the website and it is in the PDF image format as against the PDF text format where people can access their names on the list. This curbs the people to access the information on the website, petitioners said.

"This is the issue concerning about 60 lakh voters in Bengaluru. If they publish the draft electoral rolls in an image format it makes it difficult for them to locate their names as they have to go through the entire list. The purpose of publishing the electoral rolls on the website is to ensure that it is accessible for the public," said Sridhar Pabbisetty, CEO, Namma Bengaluru Foundation.

According to the petition, publishing electoral rolls in PDF image format against the rules framed by Election Commission of India (ECI) in 2016. Not only this rule is violated, but the website asks for users to enter a CAPTCHA code in order to view the electoral list, which makes it even more difficult for users.

Kumar assured that the matter will be looked into and necessary action taken, said a representative of United Bengaluru.