Why is EC afraid of transparency: Congress after election rule tweak

New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday hit out at the Election Commission for tweaking an election rule to prevent public inspection of certain electronic documents such as CCTV camera and webcasting footage, asking why the poll panel was afraid of transparency.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the party would legally challenge amendment.

"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," Ramesh said in a post on X.

Sharing a December 20 notification, the Congress leader said, "This move of the ECI will be challenged legally right away." The government has tweaked an election rule to prevent public inspection of certain electronic documents such as CCTV camera and webcasting footage as well as video recordings of candidates to prevent their misuse.

Based on the recommendation of the poll panel, the Union law ministry has amended Rule 93 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, to restrict the type of "papers" or documents open to public inspection.

According to Rule 93, all "papers" related to elections shall be open to public inspection.

The amendment inserts "as specified in these rules" after "papers".

Ramesh said sunlight was the best disinfectant and information would restore faith in the process -- a reasoning Punjab and Haryana High Court agreed with when it directed the ECI to share all information it was legally required to with the public.

"Yet, the ECI, instead of complying with the judgment, rushes to amend the law to curtail the list of what can be shared," he said.

"Why is the ECI so afraid of transparency?" the Congress general secretary asked.

Transparency and openness are key in exposing and eliminating corruption and unethical practices and information restores confidence in the process, Ramesh noted.

Law ministry and ECI officials separately explained that a court case was the "trigger" behind the amendment.

Punjab and Haryana High Court had recently directed the poll panel to provide copies of the required documents related to the Haryana Assembly elections to advocate Mehmood Pracha.

He had filed a petition seeking the videography, CCTV camera footage, and copies of Forms 17-C Parts I and II related to the conduct of elections.