Letters to The Editor — December 26, 2024

ECI and elections

The modifications to the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, also restricting public access to CCTV footage of a booth, are ill-timed and uncalled for. The Election Commission of India’s recommendation to this effect and the immediate response of the government defy logic. The ECI must note that it needs to clarify things, thanks to its ineffective explanation of the sudden surge in the voting percentage towards the end of polling. There needs to be transparency. It cannot be opaque in the name of security.

Dr. D.V.G. Sankara Rao,

Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh

Whenever some of the election results for the general and State Assembly elections are released by the Election Commission of India, the Opposition parties air their grievances about the votes. The ECI is quick to deny the allegations, labelling the charges as ‘false and baseless’. But, there is no data put out by the ECI in support of its point of denial. When there is bound to be every form of data available with the ECI, why is it not transparent?

S. Doss,

Madurai

Shyam Benegal

Benegal’s oeuvre showed his commitment to telling stories that needed to be told — ones that pierced the veil of societal hypocrisy and shone a light on the darkest recesses of human experience. A pioneer of parallel cinema, his contribution to film history is nothing short of monumental.

K. Sridevi Tejaswani,

Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh