Rahul Gandhi alleges EC’s ‘institutional capture’

New Delhi, Dec 10: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday made “institutional capture” the focal point of his attack during a Lok Sabha discussion on electoral reforms and the Election Commission of India, accusing it of colluding with the ruling dispensation in “stealing votes”.

Gandhi alleged that the BJP is directing and using the ECI to “damage India’s democracy”. Rahul demanded that machine-readable voter lists be made available to political parties, that the order to delete CCTV footage 45 days after polling be withdrawn, and that the immunity granted to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners from court proceedings for actions taken in office be removed.

He also said that parties should be given access to Electronic Voting Machines so they can examine their architecture.