Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Nana Patole has directed the State Law and Justice Department to prepare the draft of a Bill which provides an option to voters to exercise their franchise on ballot papers along with electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Mr. Patole had on Tuesday called for a hearing of a petition filed with the office of the State legislature by one Pradip Uke arguing that such a law could be enacted under existing constitutional provisions and it only required an initiative from the State legislature.
“Article 328 of the Indian Constitution and number 37 of the State list of seventh schedule of the Constitution provide rights to the State legislature to formulate a law on the manner of holding elections within the State. We are not saying to abolish EVMs completely. We are demanding an additional provision of ballot paper as well for whoever wants to use that,” said advocate Satish Uke, who represented Mr. Pradip Uke, in the hearing held in front of the Speaker.
“Directions have been given to check the constitutional validity of the argument and prepare the draft of a Bill. We will go through every argument and constitutional provision. We will not work in a hurry,” an official from the Speaker’s office said. Despite several attempts, Mr. Patole could not be reached.
Mr. Satish Uke said, “On EVMs, a voter can never be 100% sure about whom he or she has voted and whether that particular candidate has received the vote. It is a right of every voter to be 100% sure about it and also essential for the democratic process.”
He further said that over the past few years, serious concerns and doubts had been raised over the EVMs and whether those could be manipulated. “We are not saying to abolish EVMs. A State government cannot do that. All that we are saying is to give an option of ballot voting in State and local body elections,” he said, adding that it would boost people’s confidence in the electoral process which would ultimately lead to an increase in voting percentage.
