Decision on going back to ballot paper for local body polls based on experience: Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday defended the decision on going back to ballot paper for local body polls, saying that it was made "based on experience".
The Congress government in Karnataka on Thursday decided to recommend to the State Election Commission (SEC) to hold all the future panchayat and urban local body polls in the state using ballot paper instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
"Our intention is to use ballot paper. Based on our experience, we have decided that the ballot paper should be there. There are examples where several countries have returned to ballot paper from EVMs," Siddaramaiah told reporters here on Friday.
While briefing the cabinet decision on Thursday, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil had cited erosion of confidence and credibility, among people towards EVMs, as the reason for the decision.
The Cabinet has also decided to authorise the state election commission to "prepare, revise and, if necessary, redo" the electoral rolls for local body polls, citing discrepancies in electoral rolls and allegations of "vote theft".
Taking a swipe at the Congress government in Karnataka, the opposition BJP on Friday claimed the state cabinet's decision to use ballot papers instead of EVMs in the next local body polls amounted to "self-certifying" that the ruling party came to power through "vote theft."
Urging the 136 Congress MLAs elected in the 2023 Assembly polls and the nine Congress MPs from the state to resign first, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra said, "Let them win the elections again using ballot paper, or accept that they came to power through vote theft."
Hitting back, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar questioned as to why the BJP is worried or horrified?
"It is the decision of the Karnataka government, why is the BJP worried? The government can hold local body polls, there are provisions in law, which was enacted during their (BJP) tenure, saying that either ballot or EVM (can be used). Our government has decided to use ballot paper during local body polls, why are you (BJP) horrified?" he asked while speaking to reporters here.
Comparing BJP's opposition to "thief's mind is a mess", the Deputy CM said, "We have investigated what happened during the parliament election, I don't want to discuss it now."
Noting that this decision of the state government regarding ballot paper is for local body polls, he said, the Central Election Commission will decide for Assembly and Parliament polls.
Asked whether it will be ballot paper for the upcoming polls to five corporations in Bengaluru, Shivakumar, who is also in-charge Minister for Bengaluru, said, "The government's decision is for local body polls."
After its loss in Assembly polls in states like Haryana and Maharashtra, the Congress has expressed doubts about the EVM's infallibility and the election outcome. It has demanded a return to the paper ballot.
Amid a row over the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had recently alleged that elections are being "stolen" in India and claimed that his party has figured out the modus operandi of the "vote theft" by studying a Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka, which had resulted in a huge political controversy.
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Illegal sand mining has created environmental crisis in National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary: SC
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday said rampant illegal riverbed sand mining has created an "environmental crisis" and wreaked "havoc" in the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary, causing a grave risk to the gharial (long-snouted crocodile) preservation project.
Slamming the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh for their utter failure in dealing with the issue, the apex court directed them to install high-resolution Wi-Fi-enabled CCTV cameras along all routes frequently used for illegal sand mining in the area.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta directed that live feed of such surveillance cameras shall be placed under the direct control, supervision and operational oversight of the superintendent of police or the senior superintendent of police of the concerned district and the divisional forest officer.
It said these officers shall ensure continuous and effective monitoring of the CCTV feeds by designating appropriate officers.
"It can't be gainsaid that the issues involved are of great concern in as much as the rampant illegal mining activities in the river bed have created an environmental crisis and havoc in the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary causing a grave risk to the very project of gharial preservation of which the state governments themselves were proponents and were under an obligation to foster and promote," Justice Mehta said while pronouncing the order.
The bench directed the authorities in these three states to initiate prompt and necessary action under law if any instance of illegal mining or allied activities comes to light.
It said the authorities shall ensure seizure of vehicles or machinery found involved in illegal sand mining and also initiate prosecution of persons involved in it.
The bench, which passed several other directions, posted the matter for hearing on May 11.
The top court passed the order in a suo motu case titled 'In Re: Illegal sand mining in the National Chambal Sanctuary and threat to endangered aquatic wildlife'.
The National Chambal Sanctuary, also called the National Chambal Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary, is a 5,400-sq km tri-state protected area.
Besides the endangered gharial, it is home to the red-crowned roof turtle and the endangered Ganges river Dolphin.
Located on the Chambal river near the tripoint of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, the sanctuary was first declared a protected area in Madhya Pradesh in 1978 and now constitutes a long and narrow eco-reserve co-administered by the three states.
On March 13, the top court took suo motu cognisance of news reports about rampant illegal sand mining on the banks of the Chambal river.
