BENGALURU: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed all District Election Officers to take steps to ensure that no private agency engages in collection of voters’ data in the state. Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Karnataka Manoj Kumar Meena has issued directions in this regard to all officials concerned. He said that any attempt at collecting data by private agencies by way of house-to-house survey or use of fake identity cards will not be allowed.
He added that voter data collection through authentication or issue of no objection certificate (NOC) by DEOs or EROs to any private entity is strictly prohibited.
The CEO pointed out that there are reports appearing in some sections of the media that in a few districts, complaints have been made against some private agencies who are visiting the houses of voters and seeking personal information of the voters manually and through IT applications.