Election Commission on Saturday removed Collector and Superintendent of police of Bhind district of Madhya Pradesh where bypoll to Ater assembly seat is due on 9th of this month. Bypoll in Bhandhavgarh of Umaria district is also scheduled on same date.
Representative image | Reuters
Chief Secretary of state Basant Pratap Singh confirmed that Election Commission had asked to transfer Collector T. Illayaraja and SP Anil Singh Kushwah for a free and fair poll. It has also sought a detailed report on 19 other officials posted in the district.
Earlier the poll panel had sought a report on the complaint of state congress president Arun Yadav and media reports that the voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) machines only dispensed slips of BJP symbol during a demonstration exercise.
On Friday, during a demonstration cum familiarisation exercise of the EVMs in presence of state election officials, everybody was surprised to see only BJP slips coming out while pressing different buttons allocated to Congress and other parties.
Election Commission, on a trial basis, is using voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) along with electronic voting machines. These machines generate a slip after seven seconds of casting votes. This is a kind of acknowledgment receipt for the party the voter has voted for in the election. Though the slip can not be taken by the voter, he can see it in the polling booth itself. The slip is later dropped in a box.
On Friday, television media reports said that the machine dispensed only the slips of BJP symbol irrespective of the button pressed during the demonstration. The Chief Election Officer of Madhya Pradesh Saleena Singh, who was present during the demonstration, allegedly threatened the journalists that they would be booked if they reported the incident.
