Bengaluru: The Congress government in Karnataka on Thursday decided to recommend to the State Election Commission (SEC) to hold all the future panchayat and urban local body polls in the state using ballot papers instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said.

There is erosion of confidence and credibility among people towards EVMs, he claimed after the cabinet meeting.

The cabinet has also decided to authorise the SEC to “prepare, revise and, if necessary, redo” the electoral rolls for local body polls, the minister said, citing discrepancies in electoral rolls and allegations of “vote theft”.

“For the State Election Commission to prepare electoral rolls and do the necessary revision for the local body polls, the state cabinet has decided to make necessary laws and to amend rules,” Patil said.

Speaking to reporters here after the cabinet meeting, he said, “It has been decided to recommend to the SEC to hold all the upcoming local body polls using ballot paper instead of EVMs.”

“In the next 15 days, all rules and required legal changes will be made,” he said, adding that the government has made its recommendations, and once it frames the rules, it will be binding on the SEC.

The minister said earlier the electoral rolls prepared for Assembly polls were used for local body elections. “For the rolls to be revised or amended completely or to redo it if necessary, and to prepare quality electoral rolls, we will recommend the state election commission to prepare electoral rolls.”

Regarding how to conduct polls and the procedure to be followed, the government will recommend to the SEC. Some laws and rules need to be amended, he said.

“If a rule states that the elections have to be held using EVMs, we will amend that rule. The cabinet has given its consent to make necessary amendments. It has also decided about the recommendations to be made to the state election about preparing the electoral rolls and how the elections are to be held.”

Pointing out that the SEC is an independent body and they have the responsibility of electoral rolls preparation, Patil said, the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act, Municipality Act and the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act gives details about how the elections have to be conducted and the rules that the state government can make.

Asked about the reasons for this move, the minister said, in recent times, people in Karnataka have found discrepancies in the preparation of electoral rolls and a large number of complaints have come about “vote theft”.

He said, observing an erosion of trust among people towards EVMs, the government decided to recommend to the SEC to hold polls using ballot papers instead of EVMs. “There is an erosion of confidence in the credibility of EVMs.”

After its loss in Assembly polls in states like Haryana and Maharashtra, the Congress has expressed doubts about the EVM’s infallibility and the election outcome. It has demanded a return to the paper ballots.

Amid a row over the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had recently alleged that elections are being “stolen” in India and claimed that his party has figured out the modus operandi of the “vote theft” by studying a Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka, which had resulted in a huge political controversy.

📰 Crime Today News is proudly sponsored by DRYFRUIT & CO – A Brand by eFabby Global LLC

Design & Developed by Yes Mom Hosting