How to report poll violation through EC’s new app
New Delhi, July 4: The Election Commission launched an Android-based app, through which a person can secretly send to it geo-tagged videos and photos of illegal money being distributed or a hate speech being made during polls.
The unique Internet-based beta version of the application is called 'cVIGIL', which stands for "citizens' vigil". It will be operationalised for the first time when assembly polls in states such as Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are held later this year. It will be made available on Google Play Store.
The app will work only during the time the model code of conduct (MCC) is in place in a poll-bound state.
The
EC
said
it
will
"hide
the
complainant's
phone
number
and
identity
so
as
to
encourage
information
against
high
and
mighty
without
any
risk
of
subsequent
possible
backlash."
Those
who
do
not
hide
their
identity
will
also
get
a
response
from
the
EC
on
the
action
taken
after
their
complaint.
Chief Election Commissioner O P Rawat said the poll panel is bringing out this tool as there have been instances when vested interests have misled surveillance teams and directed them to a place away from the scene of poll code violation.
"The photos and videos will be automatically tagged by the geographical information system, and hence the surveillance teams will be directed to the correct place of incident where the poll code is being violated," the CEC said.
Deputy EC Sandeep Saxena said the app will be useful, especially in the backdrop of an instance when time lag was seen in reporting model code violations during the Karnataka assembly polls in May.
"This app will ensure prompt reporting of MCC violation with proper evidence and in a time-bound manner. This is an initiative where the EC can be seen walking the talk," he said.
He said a person using the app will not be able to save the photos or videos he wants to report on his phone and will have to send them within 5 minutes to the local EC-appointed field unit, which will then spring into action to check the violation.
"If the complaint is correct, the person who sent the photo or the video clip will be intimated within 100 minutes," he added.
A senior official said violations such as distribution of illegal inducements, black money and hate speech can be recorded via the app and sent to the EC for action.
"The app requires an Android smartphone equipped with a camera, good Internet connection and GPS access. The operating system should be Android Jellybean and above," the EC said in an advisory.
It said, "each reported incident is tracked and scrutinised from the beginning to the end, thus bringing accountability into the system."