Siddaramaiah defends K'taka govt's decision to revert to old ballot system, asks why BJP fears it
Koppal (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday sought to know why the BJP is afraid of ballot paper, while defending his government's decision to revert to the old system of voting during elections for the local body polls, instead of using the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
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 EVMs.
"Have other countries that are using ballot paper gone back to the stone age? Have America and other advanced countries returned to the stone age? Why are they (BJP) afraid of ballot paper?" Siddaramaiah asked.
He was responding to the BJP comparing his government's decision to use ballot paper, to going back to "stone age".
Addressing reporters here, he said, "Statements that we will go back to the stone age by using ballot paper is not right."
"We are saying from our experience that a lot of injustice is happening (in polls). There are issues with the voters' list, Rahul Gandhi (Congress leader) is fighting against it in Bihar, where assembly elections are scheduled to take place. He (Gandhi) had explained how the Congress lost in Mahadevapura assembly segment (in Bengaluru)," he added.
The government has cited erosion of confidence and credibility among people towards EVMs as the reason for the decision to go back to ballot paper.
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".
After its loss in the Assembly polls in Haryana and Maharashtra, the Congress has expressed doubts over the EVM’s infallibility and the election outcome. It has demanded a return to the paper ballot.
Amid the 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 "votes 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.
