VIJAYAWADA: Meanwhile, YSRC general secretary Lella Appireddy lodged a complaint with the SEC against the launch of the app without following government regulations. “It is surprising albeit shocking to see that the SEC, a body said to be operating as an independent government entity, had developed an election surveillance app without following government regulations and the app was not developed by the State or Central agencies or any government empanelled organisation, thus violating citizens right to free and fair elections,’’ he stated in the complaint.
The YSRC further said that the SEC, which is regarded as an esteemed organisation, is resorting to such clandestine acts of not maintaining transparency and accountability which are basic pillars of democracy. The YSRC also raised three concerns with regard to the launch of the new app. “In MPTC and ZPTC elections that were scheduled to take place in 2020, Nigha, an election vigilance app, was used by the people of the State, post approval from the SEC and it is important to note that no objections were raised by the citizens or SEC. At the same time, during the general elections, the cVigil App of the Centre was put to use in the State. “We do not understand the rationale behind not using the same app that was tried and tested by the SEC itself earlier,’’ the party said.
Further, the YSRC sought to know the reasons behind developing and launching a new app through private entities without following the State and Central regulations. “We demand immediate response from the SEC with regard to the concerns about the safety and security of huge volume of data, when it is hosted on private servers. We want to know who will take the responsibility in case of any data breach as it will lead to grave violation of citizen rights,” Appireddy said.
Meanwhile, the YSRC is using eNetra App, developed by it earlier for receiving complaints of poll violations. The party has set up a dedicated desk in its office for monitoring the panchayat elections and through the app, it can receive complaints of poll violations.