15. S. Y. Quraishi - Transparency is key for the Election Commission not to lose public trust

In this episode, former Chief Election Commissioner, S. Y. Quraishi, says that transparency is the key to public trust for an institution like the Election Commission of India. Even though he refused to comment on the conduct of the Election Commission now, he says he would never have kept political parties waiting for a meeting. He would have held as many press conferences as required to clarify any issues. “Transparency is the key”, he says, adding that he would be available 24x7 for anyone who wanted to meet him. He talks about how the media was once both a watchdog over the ECI as well as “an ally — our eyes and our ears”. He says it was a “complicated” relationship but it worked well. Quraishi also speaks in detail about his certainty that Electronic Voting Machines could not be tampered with, but noted that suspicion has persisted in the public mind because of the absence of communication and transparency.