EC to provide Braille photo ID cards to blind voters
New Delhi, July 4: The Election Commission (EC) will provide Braille photo ID cards to visually challenged voters across the country, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) O.P. Rawat said here on Wednesday as he handed out token Braille ID cards to two persons at an event here.
The photo voter slips would also be made in accessible formats for them, he said.
Addressing the concluding session of a two-day event on inclusive elections, Rawat also announced that the Commission has decided to establish auxiliary polling stations for persons with disabilities during elections.
He said Disability Coordinators would be appointed at the levels of Assembly constituencies, districts and states.
He said a mobile app would be developed in-house for the persons with disabilities to facilitate them participate fully in the election processes.
He said that they would be permitted to avail of public transport for free along with their attendants on the day of polling.
For hearing impaired voters, sign language windows will be established in all audio-visual training and awareness contents of the commission.
Rawat announced that a new unit called Accessible Division would be established in the ECI-run International Institute of Democracy and Electoral Management in Delhi.
Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said that technology has the capability to fill the gaps and it shall be explored to its fullest potential.
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Outgoing CJI Chandrachud's legacy will continue to be debated: Jairam Ramesh
New Delhi (PTI): Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Saturday said outgoing Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud's legacy will continue to be debated and as the main petitioner in at least two very important matters, including a legislation being arbitrarily declared a money bill, he has been "deeply disappointed" with the CJI.
Justice Sanjiv Khanna has been appointed the 51st Chief Justice of India. He will take oath on November 11, a day after incumbent Justice Chandrachud demits office on attaining the age of 65. Friday is the last working day for Chandrachud as CJI.
Justice Chandrachud took over as the CJI on November 8, 2022.
In a post on X, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Ramesh said, "Today is the last working day for the retiring Chief Justice of India. His legacy will continue to be debated, as indeed it should be."
"Personally, as the main petitioner in at least two very important matters, I have been deeply disappointed. First, the brave judge who in his Sept 2018 dissenting judgment called the Aadhar Bill’s passage as a Money Bill a 'fraud on the Constitution', never constituted a full Bench to examine the issues involved in the matter of legislation being arbitrarily declared by the Modi government, as a money bill under Art 110 of the Constitution just to avoid full debate," Ramesh said.
Chandrachud had promised to do so after taking over as Chief Justice, he said.
"Second, my challenge of the Modi Government’s damaging amendments to the RTI has been awaiting hearing and verdict for over four years now," Ramesh said.
