An early morning phone call from an unknown number rudely wakes N. Manikantha (name changed for privacy) from a deep sleep. Upon answering, he finds out much to his annoyance that it is a pre-recorded audio message by a political leader reminding him to vote in the coming elections.
“Hi, I am contesting from Gudivada Assembly constituency. My opponent has failed to implement their manifesto and has ignored development. Please vote for me,” says the pre-recorded message.
Voters across the State are reportedly being deluged by such calls for over a month now, with many people saying they are receiving more than 10 such phone calls a day.
“Hello, I am contesting from Ongole Assembly Segment. My rival is a rogue and is deceiving the public. Please vote for me,” says a contestant in Prakasam district.
This apart, the voters are also being bombarded by survey calls. “’If you want to vote for TDP, press 1. If you want to vote for YSRCP, press 2. If you want to vote for any other party, press 3’. This was the pre-recorded call I received several times,” says Ch. Srijit, a first-time voter.
“Some political leaders are even resorting to abusive language in the pre-recorded messages. The Election Commission of India (ECI) should order an inquiry as to how the service providers of various telecom firms shared our mobile phone numbers with the political parties,” says P. Narasimha Rao, a teacher from Ongole.
Voters rue that the phone calls come at odd hours, and urged the ECI to put a check to this nuisance.
“Lakhs of voters are receiving Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) calls every day. Contestants are resorting to breach of privacy and are violating the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Act, 1997,” said a voter, B. Sai Sirisha.
The automated voice recording calls will begin at 6 a.m. and continue coming till 10.30 p.m. every day. Lakhs of voters are being subjected to this nuisance, the voters said.
Following a complaint lodged by Vijayawada Central Assembly Constituency MLA Malladi Vishnuvardhan, the Additional Chief Election Officer (Addl.CEO) has directed the AP Crime Investigation Department police to register a case over the alleged propaganda being spread over the Land Titling Act.
The CID registered a case against former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, his son and party national secretary, Nara Lokesh, the TDP campaign team, owners of the mobile phone numbers from which the voters received IVR calls and others, under Section 171 (F), Section 188 and other charges on April 4, and took up an investigation.
“Sharing of mobile numbers and personal data is a scam. The ECI should order a probe into breach of privacy and protect our personal information,” said a woman, S. Anantha Lakshmi.
