Introduce online voting for senior citizens, physically-challenged persons: Ex-CEC Krishnamurthy
Bengaluru: Former Chief Election Commissioner of India T S Krishnamurthy on Monday suggested that an online voting facility be provided to senior citizens, physically-challenged persons and members of the uniformed services, to start with.
He also urged political parties to seriously explore the possibility of cutting down the number of physical public meetings and increasingly opt for online campaigning, leveraging the power of digital media.
Speaking to PTI, Krishnamurthy said that during his tenure as the head of the Election Commission of India, the proposal to give online voting options to senior citizens and physically challenged persons was examined and informal consultations were also held with IIT Madras.
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But he said political parties had expressed reservations, citing the possible violation of privacy during voting.
"Though there are countries where internet voting is permitted, we have to carry on with the consent of political parties (in India). There is no point in introducing something over which they have reservations. But my own feeling is that at least initially senior citizens and handicapped people and those in uniformed services could all be given internet voting," he said.
"We should seriously think about it," Krishnamurthy said.
He also said with the strides that India has made on the digital front, political parties need to examine whether they can reduce the number of physical meetings for election campaigning. Right now, he said, India sees "so many" public meetings in the run-up to elections.
"These are the things we need to examine," he said. "But being a country of such a large size, we (India) have to take steps carefully. At least we can reduce (physical) campaigns and all that, so many criss-crossing, people going around. We should seriously consider it (reducing the number of physical campaign rallies) because it's promoting unnecessary hatred, violence and things like that," he added.
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Delhi records high of 32.7 deg C; AQI remains 'moderate'
New Delhi (PTI): The maximum temperature in Delhi settled at 32.7 degrees Celsius on Sunday, 1.3 notches below the seasonal average, according to the India Meteorological Department.
The minimum temperature was recorded at 20.1 degrees Celsius on Sunday, 1.3 notches below the average for the season, while the relative humidity stood at 46 per cent at 5.30 pm, the IMD said.
The weather department has forecast a partly cloudy sky for Monday with the maximum and minimum temperatures expected to hover around 34 and 19 degrees Celsius, respectively.
The air quality remained 'moderate' at 4 pm, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 134, a slight drop from Saturday’s 137, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed.
According to the CPCB, an AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.
