The model code of conduct (MCC) for the Lok Sabha polls came into force on March 16 and since then, on average, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has received more than 7,000 complaints daily from citizens related to violations.
On Tuesday, the poll body said that it had received 4,22,432 complaints on the cVIGIL app and commission’s portal on violations as of May 14.
“Of these, action has been taken in 4,22,079 (99.9%) cases and of these, 88.7% of complaints were resolved in an average time of less than 100 minutes,” the ECI said in a statement.
Similarly, a total of 2,31,479 permissions had been given on the Suvidha portal as of May 14, leading to the elimination of discretion in the grant of entitlements by using FIFO (First-In-First-Out) and ease of election-related facilitation for candidates and political parties.
The ECI credited the robustness of the cVIGIL app for a substantial reduction in illegal hoardings, defacement of property, campaigning beyond permissible time, and deployment of vehicles beyond permitted ones.
The commission issued a statement listing out the actions it has taken under MCC, based on complaints of political parties, on completion of two months of its operation. In April too, the poll body detailed actions it had taken in the first month of MCC implementation.
“The Commission has chosen to put this information in public domain so that the most important stakeholders, the voters and the political parties get real time information on measures taken to maintain a level playing field that India is rightly proud of,” the ECI said.
On April 16, the poll body said that over 2.68 lakh complaints were filed on cVIGIL and the commission’s portal on violations for citizens. In the first two weeks, the ECI received over 79,000 complaints of violations.
App gaining ground
The cVIGIL app was launched in July 2018 – ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The complaints received in this election were the highest so far. As per the ECI, the app is getting popular with every election as the number of complaints is increasing after every poll.
In December 2023, News18 reported that the ECI received nearly 78,000 complaints during the 11 assembly elections held during the one-year period between November 2022 and 2023. Out of the 78,000 complaints, more than half – 48,300 — were from the five states that went for polls in November 2023: Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan, and Telangana. These 48,300 complaints were received between October 9 and November 30.
Empowering the voters
The cVIGIL app allows the common man to raise issues related to MCC violations to the poll body.
Citizens can capture audio clips, photos, or videos in real-time, and a “100-minute” countdown for time-bound response to complaints is ensured.
As per the poll body, the drill is that as soon as a complaint is filed, within five minutes the district election officer assigns it to a field unit for verification. In the next 15 minutes, the team arrives at the site. In the next 30 minutes, it has to execute an action and submit a report. Another 50 minutes are kept for the returning officer to close the complaint.
The app automatically enables a geotagging feature as soon as users switch on their cameras in the cVIGIL app to report a violation.
“This means that flying squads could know the precise location of a reported violation, and the image captured by citizens could be used as evidence in the court of law. Citizens can also report complaints anonymously,” the ECI said.
Of the seven phases in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, four have been completed. Polling in the next phase will be carried out on May 20. The votes will be counted on June 4.
Explore in-depth coverage of Lok Sabha Election 2024 Schedule, Voter Turnout, Upcoming Phase And Much More At News18 Website
Comments
0 comment