From Our Correspondent
Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court has issued notices to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) in response to a writ petition filed by a senior leader of the regional Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) seeking supplementing electronic voting machines (EVM) with paper trails and receipts.
The writ petition was filed by former minister and general secretary of the AGP Jagadish Bhuyan under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. The notices issued by the High Court to the CEC and EC are returnable by December 5. The notices were received by Election Commission standing counsel D Baruah.
The main opposition party of the state, the AGP had earlier petitioned the Election Commission of India for use of ballot papers in Assam assembly election instead of the EVM apprehending that the EVMs were not tamper-proof.
The petitioner Jagadish Bhuyan informed he had prayed for directing the ECI and CEC to supplement the existing EVMs with voter verifiable paper trails so that the voter could be sure that the vote cast by him/her had fallen on the right symbol. The counterfoils of the paper trails could be used in the event of a recounting, Bhuyan said.
The voter can also carry home with him or her one portion of the paper slip, he added.
Bhuyan also said he referred to the recent assembly elections in Assam as a special case in the matter and said the results of the election was “surprising and unexpected” especially in view of massive allegations of corruption against ministers of the ruling party, the mass opposition to construction of mega dams in rivers and exposure of a multi-crore financial scandal in the Dima Hasao district before the election.
