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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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
