Chennai, February 27: Tamil Nadu ranks high in poll irregularities owing to use of money power, according to former Chief Election Commissioner of India N. Gopalaswami.
“Till 2006, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar used to rank high in poll irregularities from booth capturing to murders, using muscle power. But after 2006 there has been a reversal. The irregularities that are characteristic of Tamil Nadu are sustained through money power. Votes are bought and sold with planned precision,” he said while talking on “Electoral Integrity” at Hindusthan College of Arts and Science here on Saturday.
The programme, organised under the aegis of Forum for Electoral Integrity (FFEI), was hosted by the Department of Social Work of Bharathiar University.
While calling for putting an end to these irregularities, Mr. Gopalaswami said this could be achieved by the Election Commission (EC) only with the support of the people. “When you sell your vote then the right to vote is relinquished to the buyer and it is no longer yours,” he said.
Former Chief Electoral Officer of Tamil Nadu Naresh Gupta informed the students on the procedure involved in getting their names enrolled in the voters list and getting the Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC). They could visit the websites www.ceotamilnadu.nic.in and www.elections.tn.gov.in to check whether their names appeared in the voters’ list.
Those who had not enrolled their names could do so for two more months, he added.
Pointing out the reasons behind the setting up of the FFEI in October 2010, its Convenor M.G. Devasagayam said it was time people woke up to the fact that in order to sustain a true democracy it was essential to ensure that the very first step had to be clean.
–Courtesy: Flashnewstoday