NEW DELHI: The Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) on Tuesday said that it will issue a showcause notice to the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), citing violation of its grant-in-aid rules over release of misleading election data. It stated, “It has come to the notice of ICSSR that an individual holding responsible position at CSDS, an ICSSR-funded research institute, has made media statements that had to be retracted subsequently citing glitches in data analysis regarding elections in Maharashtra”. A controversy arose after Sanjay Kumar, a psephologist at CSDS, posted on X alarming figures of surges and drops in voter numbers across several Maharashtra Assembly constituencies, pointing to what he called discrepancies between the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. These posts were swiftly seized upon by Congress to buttress Rahul Gandhi’s “vote chori” (vote theft) allegations. The CSDS later retracted the claims, admitting flaws in its data handling. The ICSSR’s statement on X further stated that CSDS “has also published media stories based on biased interpretation of the SIR exercise by the Election Commission of India”. It said, “ICSSR holds the Indian constitution in highest esteem. Election Commission of India is a high constitutional body which has been holding free and fair elections in the largest democracy of world for decades together.” It added that the alleged data manipulation and narrative-building amounted to a “gross violation of the Grant-in-Aid rules of ICSSR, and ICSSR shall issue a Show Cause Notice to the Institute.” Founded in 1963, the CSDS is an autonomous but govt-funded social science research institute, which is largely funded by ICSSR. CSDS has received substantial support as one of the few institutions to which ICSSR provides significant funding for faculty salaries and activities. The BJP seized the opportunity to undercut the opposition. Party IT head Amit Malviya said, “Where does this leave Rahul Gandhi and the Congress, which brazenly targeted the Election Commission and went so far as to brand genuine voters as fake? Shameful.” He demanded an apology from Gandhi, pointing out that the institution he relied on had admitted its figures were wrong. The Election Commission has already dismissed the “vote chori” allegations as “baseless,” demanding that Gandhi either furnish proof under oath or issue an apology to the nation.
