'Destroying evidence': Rahul Gandhi targets EC again; questions 45-day CCTV footage wipeout; poll body reacts

NEW DELHI: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Saturday renewed his attack on the Election Commission, questioning its transparency and alleging a deliberate attempt to destroy crucial poll-related data. The poll body reacted saying that making webcasting footage of polling stations public violated privacy and security concerns of voters.


"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. The one from whom the answer was needed - is destroying the evidence. It is clear - the match is fixed. And a fixed election is poison for democracy," read a post by Rahul Gandhi on X.

EC officials argued that while such demands appeared to champion voter interest and democratic integrity, they were actually intended to achieve the "opposite objective".

What is presented as a reasonable and logical request directly contradicts voter privacy, legal provisions under the Representation of the People Acts of 1950 and 1951, and Supreme Court directives, PTI reported citing EC officials.

Officials warned that sharing the footage could allow easy identification of voters and non-voters, exposing them to potential pressure, discrimination, or intimidation by anti-social elements. Citing a possible scenario, officials further said that if a political party received fewer votes at a specific booth, it could use CCTV footage to identify who voted and who didn’t—potentially leading to targeted harassment or intimidation of those individuals.

They clarified that the Election Commission retained CCTV footage, used solely as an internal administrative tool, for 45 days in line with the legal window for filing an election petition. Since no election can be challenged beyond this period, they argued that keeping the footage any longer could lead to its misuse by non-contestants to spread misinformation or malicious narratives. They added that if an election petition is filed within 45 days, the footage is preserved and made available to the competent court upon request.

The government, last year, amended election rules, based on the EC's recommendation, to restrict public access to certain electronic records—such as CCTV and webcast footage—to prevent misuse. In a May 30 letter, the EC informed state officials that multiple recording methods, including photography, videography, CCTV, and webcasting, are used to document the election process.