‘Did you take permission of women before you placed CCTVs?’: Prakash Raj to CEC

Bengaluru: The Election Commission of India (ECI) is facing mounting criticism following its press conference on alleged irregularities in the voter list and the use of CCTV cameras during polling. Opposition leaders, activists, and civil society groups say the commission has failed to address their core concerns.

Actor and activist Prakash Raj strongly objected to the installation of CCTV cameras at polling booths without voters’ consent, raising privacy concerns, particularly for women. “Did you take permission of the women before placing those CCTVs? Polling booth is not a dressing room. We are not interested in convenient excuses. We need transparency,” he said in a statement that quickly went viral on social media.

Political strategist and Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor also accused the commission of sidestepping the main issue. “The Election Commission did not answer the opposition’s concerns. They must clarify whether wrong names were added to the voter list or if duplicate voters were included. It is their duty to respond to the LoP’s claim of one lakh wrongly added names,” he remarked.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, speaking at a rally in Bihar, went a step further, accusing the ECI of covering up “vote theft” and promising to expose the alleged irregularities before the public.

On the other hand, BJP MP Shashank Mani defended the commission, warning that releasing CCTV footage could compromise voter privacy. He dismissed the opposition’s allegations as “baseless” and politically motivated.

Caught between demands for transparency and concerns over voter privacy, the Election Commission now finds itself under pressure from both sides, with the controversy showing no signs of cooling down.