Placeholder canvas

Govt accepts to use paper trial along with EVM’s for future polls

Date:

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared a proposal of the Election Commission to procure paper trail machines for use during future elections.
The decision comes in the wake of growing demands from opposition parties for holding all future elections using paper trail machines along with EVMs, to clear doubts about votes cast.

The clearance was given by the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the proposal of “procurement of VVPAT units” after a brief discussion.
The EC has sought Rs 3,174 crore in all for procuring over 16 lakh paper trail machines to cover all polling stations in the country.

ALSO READ: NewsMobile Reality Check: BJP get an edge in Delhi Civic polls

The Cabinet has so far cleared two tranches of Rs 1,009 crore and Rs 9,200 for the Commission to buy new electronic voting machines (EVMs). Since June, 2014, the Commission has given at least 11 reminders to the government seeking funds for VVPAT machines.

Last year, Chief Election Commissioner SNA Zaidi had written to the Prime Minister drawing his attention to the funds needed for the machines.
The Supreme Court has asked the Commission to give a tentative timeframe by which it can use VVPAT machines in all polling stations. The EC says two PSUs — ECIL and BEL — need 30 months to produce the over 16 lakh VVPATs.

ALSO READ: No ‘lal battis’ for ministers and babus; PM, Prez among few exempt

Sixteen parties had recently petitioned the EC to revert to paper ballot system for greater transparency. The BSP, the AAP and the Congress had attacked the EC on the issue of alleged tampering of EVMs. The VVPAT is a machine which dispenses a slip with the symbol of the party for which a person has voted for. The slip drops in a box but the voter cannot take it home.

The voters see voter-verifiable paper audit trail slip for seven seconds, which would be an acknowledgement receipt for the party they voted for in the election.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Share post:

Subscribe

Popular

More like this
Related

JP Morgan CEO Praises PM Modi, Says He Has Done An Unbelievable Job In India

Dimon spoke on current trends in global finance and shared his insights into evaluating and managing the economic and geopolitical risks ahead

Sam Pitroda’s Remarks On Inheritance Tax Sparks Outrage; What Is Inheritance Tax?

Sam Pitroda the chairperson of the Indian Overseas Congress on Wednesday mentioned about the inheritance tax which exists in the United States and called it an 'interesting idea'

Prime Minister Modi Slams Congress Over Sam Pitroda’s ‘Inheritance Tax’ Remark

Surguja: In the midst of a row around 'wealth...

India, Japan Hold Consultations On Disarmament, Non-Proliferation And Export Control

The two sides exchanged views on developments in the areas of disarmament and non-proliferation relating to nuclear, chemical and biological domains, outer space security, non-proliferation issues, conventional weapons and export control