Former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa urges EC to clarify ‘abnormal surge’ in voter numbers
New Delhi: Former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa has called on the Election Commission of India (ECI) to explain the abnormal rise in the number of electors during recent elections, including those held in Maharashtra and Delhi.
In an interview with the New Indian Express, Lavasa said the surge in registered voters has raised valid concerns, particularly from opposition parties, regarding the integrity of the electoral rolls.
“Identifying the voter’s uniqueness is the key because one person is not supposed to have more than one Aadhaar,” Lavasa said, adding, “The EC must explain why the number of electors registered increased abnormally.”
He further noted that it remains unclear how many individuals might be registered in more than one location. “That is one part of the story. The question is how to de-duplicate them if these people were already enrolled in another place and were also enrolled here,” he said.
Pointing to the scale of the issue, Lavasa mentioned that there are already 98 crore registered voters in the country. He said the Election Commission is currently in consultation with political parties and technical departments to arrive at a solution.
According to Lavasa, Aadhaar could be used effectively to detect duplicate entries due to its biometric identification capabilities. However, he was firm that the right to vote should not be contingent upon possessing an Aadhaar card.
“In my view, Aadhaar is the only document that can be used for de-duplication. But the Aadhaar Act does not make having an Aadhaar mandatory. The right to vote is not dependent on having an Aadhaar. That should be separated,” he said.
He clarified that Aadhaar can serve as an administrative tool to clean the electoral rolls, but it must not become a barrier for eligible voters to be included in the list.
Lavasa, who served as Election Commissioner from 2018 to 2020, was known for advocating transparency and electoral reforms during his tenure.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
