Election commission should call all-party meeting on EVMs: Former CEC Quraishi
New Delhi: Stressing that communication is important in a democracy, former chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi on Tuesday said the election commission should call an all-party meeting to address concerns over the EVMs.
Amid concerns being raised by several opposition parties over the electronic voting machines (EVMs), the former CEC said while he defends the EVMs, communication is important in democracy and so the election commission (EC) should call a meeting of the political parties and address the concerns.
"I have been defending EVMs for the last 15 years. If EVM is manipulatable could the BJP have lost Karnataka so badly? The PM had addressed 34 rallies... They lost Himachal, Punjab, West Bengal... " he said during an interaction with journalists at the Indian Women's Press Corps.
"In 2009, the movement against EVMs was at its peak, BJP leader G V L Narasimha Rao had even written a book, today BJP is the biggest defender of the EVM. When I became the CEC, we called an all-party meeting, which is what I will recommend to the EC even now. Political parties are the biggest stakeholders," he said.
"The EC should not be quiet on the issue. If I was CEC, I would call all political parties," he said. "If the election commission does not talk, they (political parties) go to the Supreme Court. The EC is letting go of their power. Communication is important. You cannot shut your doors in democracy, especially for the election commission which is the guardian of democracy," he said.
He also dismissed the argument that counting VVPATs would take more time. "What is the problem in counting 100 per cent VVPATs? The election commission has said it will take four-five days... Nation waits for two-and-a-half months from the first to the last day of election... What is the problem?" he said.
Asked about 'One Nation One Election', Quraishi said there is a risk that it may lead to local issues being subjugated by national issues. "There are some positives and some negatives. At all three levels, whether it is Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha or Panchayat, the voters are the same, booths are the same, the district administration, security apparatus are the same. It is simple that a voter can press buttons on three machines instead of one... It is simpler. It is also beneficial for the election commission that they can hold elections at one go and be free for the next five years," he said.
"But what is the counter? People like elections being held. People have only one power, that is their vote. You will be snatching away their power. Repeated elections allow people to have a say. Mayawati had said repeated elections suit people," he said.
"Only two parties can have a problem with repeated elections - the election commission, but it is our job, we get paid for it... The other is politicians, why are they troubled? Politics is about winning elections. So it is not right to say that repeated elections are a problem."
"The third thing is that the issues are different in the three elections, and all are equally important constitutionally. If I am in a village, there is garbage in front of my house, would I be concerned about that in the Panchayat election or about India's policy in Ukraine? Local issues should not be allowed to be subjugated by national issues. Perhaps that is the intent, to overshadow local issues with national issues. Here comes federalism, every state has local dynamics," he added.
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Nine dead as fire breaks out in residential building in east Delhi
New Delhi (PTI): A fire broke out in a residential building in east Delhi's Vivek Vihar early Sunday, leaving nine people belonging to two families dead, including a toddler, officials said.
The incident was reported around 3.48 am at a four-storey building in Vivek Vihar Phase-I, following which police, fire and disaster management teams rushed to the spot.
According to the police, the blaze engulfed flats on the second, third and fourth floors of the building, prompting a large-scale rescue operation.The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
The Delhi Fire Service (DFS) said nine charred bodies were recovered from different floors.
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"One body was recovered from the first floor, five from the second floor and three from the staircase which was found locked," the DFS officer said.
Those found dead on the second floor have been identified as Arvind Jain (60), his wife Anita Jain (58), son Nishant Jain (35), daughter-in-law Anchal Jain (33) and grandchild Akash Jain.
On the third floor, three members of a family were found dead. They were identified as Nitin Jain (50), wife Shailey Jain (48) and son Samyak Jain (25).
On the first floor a woman identified as Shikha Jain (45) was found dead while her husband Naveen Jain (48) sustained injuries.
A senior police officer said, "Around 10 to 15 people were rescued from the premises during the firefighting operation. Two of them, who sustained minor injuries, were shifted to the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital."
A total of 12 fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames, while teams from the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), traffic police and local police assisted in the rescue and evacuation efforts.
Police said the fire was brought under control after several hours. Efforts are underway to determine the cause of the fire, police said.
Further investigation and proceedings are underway.
