Who’s eligible to be included in voters’ list?
Success of an electoral process such as an election is dependent on full participation of citizens. A candidate wins or loses based on the number of votes polled for him. The government also spends a lot of funds trying to create awareness about the significance of voting. But at the same time, a well-planned conspiracy is underway to keep some eligible voters out of the voting list to deny them the right to carry out a democratic duty. This act has active participation from politicians, government officials and even police officers, thus threatening the whole process of democracy.
Earlier, people voted on proxy. They were fake, duplicate votes cast twice or more times by the same person. Someone would usurp the vote of someone else. All this would work at the behest of local rowdies and small time political goondas. But, the act that has been planned now will mostly do away with the names of people from the voting list itself, where they’d vote against the ruling dispensation. Majority of such names are going to be from Muslim and Dalit communities from lower strata of the society. The names of these people were identified along with the names of ‘illegal’ immigrants in Assam, who government claims had sneaked in from Bangladesh. NRC draft report is out now making it easy to identify the locals and immigrants.
Lakhs of people have been marked as not-citizens-of-India. Opposition parties claim the main agenda of the government in this case is to keep those people away who are presumably against the ruling BJP, more than identifying the foreigners living in India. Assam is shaken by the kind of mistakes that have been noticed in NRC draft. Some people have even committed suicide over gory future. Protests are being carried out against this measure. Many Indian citizens have also been named as immigrants.
Unfortunately this pattern is being replicated in Karnataka too, and has already been deemed a partial success. Among the 2.8 lakh applications submitted to be included in the voters’ list, more than 62% have been rejected for reasons that the applicants are not Indian citizens. And majority among these are Dalits and Muslims apart from lower caste people. Many don’t even know their applications have been rejected. Many with valid Aadhar card and electricity bill have also been rejected with the aggrieved not even being given a choice of questioning this rejection of their applications. The deserving people should not be denied participation in democracy, is the core value of the constitution. People of this country have at least a right to question why their application was rejected. And the officers owe them an answer.
The government has all the rights to make arrangements to deport illegal immigrants from any other country into any part of the nation, including Karnataka. There should be no compromise on that. There are charges that Bangladeshis have made Karnataka their home. But many people have encouraged them to render their services because Bangladeshi workers are available for lesser labour charges over local ones. They work in estates and coffee plantations. If this charge of Bangladeshis having entered Karnataka is true, Coffee and tea plantations should be raided and the labourers from Bangladesh, if found, have to be deported to their lands. But in their pretext, it is rather unfair to cheat the locals. If people are coming to Karnataka from Bangladesh, this is nothing but a breach of security and intelligence. Illegal activities in the border are aiding this.
Hence, officers who allow such pilferage of people across borders should be identified and should be penalized. But at the same time, denying rightful citizenship to someone with all documents and due identity as required by law, would be to deny him/her the right to live. Officers who’d do this live right among us. Their job is to keep the dissident voices out to win elections for their favourite people.
A coalition government which claims to be secular has occupied the office today. The government would obviously know by now that the names have been deleted. The government by now has to make efforts to understand who is behind this and who would the act finally benefit. Instead of regretting over the spilt milk, the government should immediately pay attention to undue amendments and removal of names from the list of the state.
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MP HC sets up judicial commission to probe water contamination in Indore
Indore (PTI): The Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court on Tuesday set up a commission of inquiry comprising a former HC judge to probe the issue of water contamination in city's Bhagirathpura, saying the matter requires probe by an independent, credible authority and "urgent judicial scrutiny".
It also directed the commission to submit an interim report after four weeks from the date of commencement of proceedings.
A division bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi constituted the commission while hearing several public interest litigations (PILs) filed simultaneously regarding the deaths of several people in Bhagirathpura due to the consumption of contaminated water.
The HC reserved the order after hearing all the parties during the day, and released it late at night.
The state government on Tuesday told the HC that the deaths of 16 people in Indore's Bhagirathpura area was possibly linked to a month-long outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea caused by contaminated drinking water.
The government presented an audit report of 23 deaths from the current gastroenteritis epidemic in Bhagirathpura before the bench, suggesting that 16 of these fatalities may have been linked to the outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea caused by contaminated drinking water.
The report, prepared by a committee of five experts from the city's Government Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College, stated that the deaths of four people in Bhagirathpura were unrelated to the outbreak, while no conclusion could be reached regarding the cause of death of three other people in the area.
During the hearing, the high court sought to know from the state government the scientific basis behind its report.
The division bench also expressed surprise at the state government's use of the term "verbal autopsy" in relation to the report, sarcastically stating that it had heard the term for the first time.
The HC expressed concern over the Bhagirathpura case, stating that the situation was "alarming," and noted that cases of people falling ill due to contaminated drinking water have also been reported in Mhow, near Indore.
In its order, the HC said the serious issue concerning contamination of the drinking water supply in Bhagirathpura area allegedly resulted in widespread health hazards to residents, including children and elderly persons.
According to the petitioners and media reports, death toll is about 30 till today, but the report depicts only 16 without any basis or record, it said.
It is averred that sewage mixing, leakage in the pipeline, and failure of civic authorities to maintain potable water standards have led to the outbreak of water-borne diseases. Photographs, medical reports, and complaints submitted to the authorities prima facie indicate a matter requiring urgent judicial scrutiny, the HC said.
"Considering the gravity of the allegation and affecting the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India and the need for an independent fact-finding exercise, the Court is of the opinion that the matter requires investigation by an independent, credible authority," it said.
"Accordingly, we appoint Justice Sushil Kumar Gupta, former judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, a one-man commission of inquiry into the issues relating to water contamination in Bhagirathpura, Indore, and its impact on other areas of the city," the HC added.
As per the order, the commission shall inquire into and submit a report on the cause of contamination -- whether the drinking water supplied to Bhagirathpura was contaminated; and the source and nature of contamination (sewage ingress, industrial discharge, pipeline damage etc).
The panel will also probe the number of actual deaths of affected residents on account of contaminated water; find out the nature of disease reported and adequacy of medical response and preventive measures; suggest immediate steps required to ensure safe drinking water as well as long-term infrastructural and monitoring reforms.
It will also identify and fix responsibility upon the officers and officials found prima facie responsible for the Bhagirathpura water contamination incident, and suggest guidelines for compensation to affected residents, particularly vulnerable sections.
The commission shall have powers of a civil court for the purpose of summoning officials and witnesses; calling up records from the government department, hospitals, laboratories and civic bodies; ordering water quality testing through accredited laboratories; conducting spot inspections.
All state authorities involving district administration, Indore Municipal Corporation, public health engineering department and Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board shall extend full co-operation and provide records as sought by the commission, it said.
The state government shall provide office space, staff, and logistical support to the commission, it said.
During the hearing in the day, the state government also presented a status report to the court in this matter.
According to reports, a total of 454 patients were admitted to local hospitals during the vomiting and diarrhea outbreak, of whom 441 have been discharged after treatment, and 11 are currently hospitalised.
According to officials, due to a leak in the municipal drinking water pipeline in Bhagirathpura, sewage from a toilet was also mixed in the water.
