New Delhi, Jan 19 (PTI) A tender issued by a government agency to empanel firms for surveillance and monitoring during elections and examinations sparked a controversy, prompting the Election Commission to order its cancelation on Friday saying the document was floated without its nod.

The tender was issued by the National Informatics Centre Services Inc, which was established under the NIC as a procurement agency for information and communication technology, goods and services for the government.

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The EC said it will not allow invasion on citizens' privacy in any manner during elections.

"When NICSI tender came to notice, the Commission directed NICSI to immediately cancel it. The said tender was not floated with ECI approval. The Commission shall not allow invasion of citizens' privacy in any manner during elections," the poll panel said on X.

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The poll panel was responding to a post by Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) which said that "@NICMeity has released a tender for the deployment of surveillance tools like drones and facial recognition technology to maintain law and order during the 2024 general elections".

In a post, the NICSI said its "tender for request for proposal for empanelment of agencies to provide surveillance & monitoring services, Like for Elections, Examination etc. has been cancelled".

The NICSI tagged the poll panel and IFF in its post announcing the cancellation of the tender.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)