ECI slams Congress ‘Vote Chor – Gaddi Chhod’ video ‘misleading’
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New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday issued a fact-check against a video shared on the Congress party’s official social media handle, calling its message tagged “Vote Chor – Gaddi Chhod” “misleading” and “not in line with existing laws.”
Reiterating its stance on maintaining the secrecy of the ballot, the Commission stressed that releasing polling station CCTV footage “would risk the secrecy of the ballot — a cornerstone of free and fair elections — as well as voters’ privacy by enabling identification of who has voted or not, leaving voters vulnerable to pressure, discrimination, or intimidation.”
The ECI’s statement came in response to the Congress video dated 25 August amid renewed demands for making polling station footage from Maharashtra public. The poll body clarified that the Bombay High Court had dismissed Writ Petition No. 1402 of 2025 challenging the Maharashtra Assembly elections and rejected pleas to release CCTV footage. The Supreme Court also refused to interfere with that order.
Under Section 81 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the Commission said, an election petition can be filed within 45 days of result declaration, and CCTV footage is retained for that period.
Reaffirming its “firm commitment” to safeguarding voter privacy, the ECI said it upholds the integrity of elections by working strictly within the framework of the Constitution, election laws, and Supreme Court directions.
Citing the Supreme Court’s landmark 2017 Puttaswamy judgment that declared the Right to Privacy a fundamental right under Article 21 and traceable to Articles 14 and 19, the ECI underlined that privacy encompasses bodily, informational, and decisional aspects.
The slogan “Vote Chor – Gaddi Chhod” has been widely used by Congress and its allies during the recently concluded ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Bihar to accuse the Election Commission of manipulating rolls and results — allegations consistently denied by the poll body.
With PTI inputs