No proposal to use remote voting machine in "upcoming election" in country: Rijiju in LS
New Delhi (PTI): There is no proposal to use the remote electronic voting machine (RVM) in the "upcoming election" in the country and it is also not proposed for the use of Non-Resident Indian (NRI) voters, Lok Sabha was informed on Friday.
Responding to a question in the Lower House of Parliament, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said in a written reply that according to the Election Commission (EC), it has "not proposed to introduce the RVM for the upcoming election in the country".
Several assembly polls are due this year, while the Lok Sabha elections will be held in 2024.
The minister said the EC has also informed that the RVM is not proposed for the use of NRI voters.
Rijiju noted that public sector unit Electronic Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), under the guidance of the EC and the Technical Expert Committee of the poll panel, has developed a prototype of the Multi Constituency Remote Electronic Voting Machine.
The EC, he said, had circulated a concept note to all national and state political parties on improving voter participation of domestic migrants using remote voting .
The note included matters such as defining a 'migrant voter', addressing the territorial concept, the method of remote voting and counting of votes, enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct, and setting up of controlled environment to ensure free and fair voting.
Citing details shared by the EC, he said the introduction of RVM would not increase fake votes.
"The prototype RVM developed by ECIL is a robust and stand-alone system based on the existing EVMs... Independently, various statutes -- the Representation of People Act, 1950, and the Representation of People Act, 1951, the Conduct of Election Rules and various guidelines and instructions of the EC will ensure that the confirmation/genuineness of voter identity is verified," Rijiju said.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar had last month described the EC's proposal on remote voting as a "work in progress" and said it was not an easy subject and reaching decisions in a democracy takes time.
Responding to questions on the recent all-party consultations on remote voting, he had said it was "successful" with representatives of recognised parties sitting through the entire day. The issue of 30 crore "missing voters" came to limelight.
Kumar had said urban voters, youth and domestic migrants form part of the 30 crore voters who did not participate in the last Lok Sabha elections.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
