No Wi- Fi, webcasting during MP counting

The Election Commission on Monday declared to bar live broadcast through internet of counting of votes for the November 28 assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh. The counting is scheduled to be held on Tuesday.

Chief electoral officer V. L. Kantha Rao announced the decision. He said the counting would be monitored through CCTV cameras.

The decision comes in the wake of protests by the Congress over the permission given by the EC to private operators to establish Wi- Fi connections in the counting rooms. The party feared that the results might be manipulated if the private companies are allowed in the counting rooms. The party sought EC to establish its own network.

On November 14, the outgoing chief election commissioner O. P. Rawat had announced that the proceedings from 14,000 booths in MP would be web cast to ensure free and fair elections.