For quite some time, the Election Commission has come under severe criticism from all quarters.
Apart from mainstream media which is questioning the absolute powers of EC, social media has been attacking the EC on various issues including EVMs malfunctioning, unauthorized transportation of EVMs from place to place and above all, large scale discrepancies between the voting percentage recorded by the polling officials and the figures announced later.
Facing an embarrassing situation over these reports, the EC has now started threatening the media, particularly social media for reporting the malpractices.
Telangana Chief Electoral Officer Rajat Kumar warned that there were legal provisions to initiate stringent action against individuals and parties found guilty of spreading fake news in the social media and other acts with the intention to undermine the efforts of the Election Commission of India and the functioning of democracy in the country.
Rajat Kumar explained various electoral procedures followed regarding the transport and storage of EVMs, maintenance of security at strong rooms and announcement of polling percentage.
He asked the public to confirm the veracity and credibility of content regarding the elections in the state being broadcast or displayed in social media and bring to the notice of the Office of the Electoral Officer any such suspicious content.
“The press is a partner in the successful and peaceful conduct of the election process,” he said.
The CEO explained that at the close of voting, the presiding officer submits two registers to the Returning Officer—Form 17A, containing names, contact details and identities of voters who cast their votes and Form 17C a two-page, comprehensive report containing, among other details, the total number of voters who cast their votes at all polling stations.
“A copy of Form 17C was also be presented to polling agents or representatives of political parties. So, there is no truth in the allegations that there discrepancies in the announcement of polling percentage. It is a common practice that the final voting percentage is announced only on the second day of polling,” he said.