‘Data Manipulation’: ICSSR slaps show-cause notice on CSDS

New Delhi: The Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) has issued a show-cause notice to CSDS for alleged data manipulation related to election analysis, citing biased interpretations amid the ‘vote chori’ row.

The ICSSR notice read, “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. Further, the institute has published media stories based on biased interpretation of the SIR exercise by the Election Commission of India..." Highlighting the role of the Election Commission, it said, “ICSSR holds the Indian constitution in highest esteem. The Election Commission of India is a high constitutional body that has been holding free and fair elections in the largest democracy in the world for decades."

Alleging the CSDS to tarnish the sanctity of the Election Commission, it noted, “ICSSR takes serious cognizance of the data manipulation by CSDS and its attempt to create a narrative with the intention of undermining the sanctity of the Election Commission of India. This is a gross violation of the Grant-in-Aid rules of ICSSR, and ICSSR shall issue a Show Cause Notice to the Institute."

The notice follows an apology from Lokniti-CSDS co-director Sanjay Kumar on Tuesday for his post about Maharashtra elections, which reported a significant decline in voter numbers in two assembly seats compared to the recent Lok Sabha elections.

“I sincerely apologize for the tweets posted regarding Maharashtra elections. Error occurred while comparing data of 2024 LS and 2024 AS. The data in row was misread by our Data team. The tweet has since been removed. I had no intention of dispersing any form of misinformation,” Lokniti-CSDS co-director wrote on X.