Congress pushes for reverting to ballot paper, raises concern over electoral bonds
New Delhi, Aug 27 : Congress on Monday pushed for reverting to ballot paper in place of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in a proposal given to the Election Commission. It also said that to ensure political transparency, full identity disclosure of purchasers of electoral bonds is necessary.
In a proposal to the Election Commission, the party said: "Given the prevailing climate, the Congress party is of the firm opinion that in order to restore the independence and integrity of the electoral process, we must revert to the paper ballot."
The party also said the present anonymity associated with electoral bonds needs to be remedied since this will not only assure anonymity to donors, but will also kill whatever little transparency exists.
"More recently, EVMs have been found faulty and non-functional on multiple occasions· There are innumerable complaints that whichever button was pressed, the voted was polled and counted in favour of the BJP's symbol," said Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi quoting the proposals.
"This has been noticed in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and many others. This has put a serious question mark on the credibility, independence and fairness of the EVMs in recording the votes correctly," said the party.
"VVPATs are meaningless if the paper trail is never to be counted. The ECI has spent a considerable amount of money by its own admission, on the introduction of VVPAT technology," it said.
"Currently only a very small number are cross checked. This turns the verification process into a mere academic exercise that defeats the very purpose of introducing VVPATs.
"If indeed the objective is to ensure greater confidence in EVMs, as stated in the note, then a more comprehensive audit of VVPAT should be welcome," it added.
The party said there should be timely submission of annual audit reports, election expenditure reports and contribution reports by national and state recognized political parties.
"The electoral bonds, which were introduced by the present government, allow any citizen or a body incorporated to anonymously purchase the same in various denominations of up to Rs. 1 crore. However, this is simply a legal channel for companies to round-trip their tax haven cash to a political party," said Singhvi quoting the proposals.
The party also raised the issue of bogus voters and said electoral process will be severely compromised if proper physical verification is not conducted. Other issues included fake/divisive propaganda being circulated on social media platforms.
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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.
