Entire process will be videographed: AG

CHENNAI: The entire process of counting in all the centres in the city will be videographed, Advocate-General A Navaneethakrishnan told a division bench comprising Justice D Murugesan and KK Sasidharan on Thursday.The AG told this when the batch of writ petitions from the opposition parties, mainly the DMK, came up before the bench on Thursday. Hence, there was no need for issuing any specific direction in this regard, Navaneethakrishnan added.Recording the submission, the bench  directed the SEC and the State government to provide sufficient police protection to the counting centres. The bench, however, rejected a plea for independent observers. The same was not permissible as per the law, the bench said.As regards installation of web-cameras, the bench said that since the plea had been made in the last minute, this plea could not be heeded. With regard to the demand for simultaneous counting, the bench observed that the SEC would follow the TN Panchayats Election Rules. Accepting the submissions of advocate K Selvaraj, the bench directed the police and the Returning Officer of North Boothinathan panchayat to give sufficient protection to the counting centres for election to the post of president to the panchayat in Udumalpet taluk, Tirupur. The counting process should also be videographed, the bench said.