CEOs to meet on Dec. 21

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, DEC. 13. The Chief Election Commissioner, Dr. M.S. Gill, has convened a meeting of the Chief Electoral Officers (CEO) of five States including Tamil Nadu where Assembly elections are due next year, on December 21 in New Delhi to discuss poll-related issues including the feasibility of holding a one-day poll.

Disclosing this to reporters at the Secretariat here today, the State CEO, Mr. Mrytunjay Sarangi, said besides Tamil Nadu, Assembly polls are due to be held in Pondicherry, Kerala, West Bengal and Assam (possibly in April 2001).

Stating that the New Delhi meeting would deliberate among other things the progress in the Electors Photo-Identity Cards (EPIC) issuance and electoral rolls revision in the State, Mr. Sarangi said, March 15, 2001, would be the deadline for the EPIC programme in Tamil Nadu.

It would not be possible to extend the EPIC schedule beyond March 15, at the end of a month-long special campaign from February 15 next year, in all the 206 taluk offices where the State Election Department would make facilities for online issuance of voters photo identity cards, he said.

The EPIC coverage in Tamil Nadu had touched 63 per cent, a five percentage point increase since ``ELCOT handed over the job to us in January 2000,'' the CEO said. But he denied that the State- owned ELCOT had ``ditched'' them mid-way in its implementation.

Declining to be drawn into the AIADMK MP, Mr. Malaichamy's remarks that his party would move the Court if uncovered voters were disallowed from voting in the next elections since the EPIC programme may not ensure 100 per cent coverage by the deadline, Mr. Sarangi expressed the hope that all those ``interested'' in voting would make use of the prevailing opportunity to get a voter ID card.

The CEO merely reiterated that Dr. Gill was firm that voter identification was a must for exercising one's franchise from the next Assembly elections, besides going in for electronic voting machines (EVM) in all the 234 Constituencies in the State.

Mr. Sarangi also announced that the second round of the second phase of EPIC programme would be taken up in eight districts - Vellore, Dharmapuri, Salem, Tiruvannamalai, Tirunelveli, Tuticorin, Kanyakumari and Villupuram - from December 17 to February 7.

The CEO expected the State's total electorate to go upto about five crores from the present 4.80 crores, after the recent electoral rolls revision. During the latest Statewide drive, 40 lakh new applications had come in for inclusion in the electoral rolls, but at the same time a large number of ``deletions'' had also been sought, he said.

The inquiry into the alleged issuance of ``bogus'' voter ID cards in Saidapet Assembly constituency was over and door-to-door verification of the electoral rolls done, Mr. Sarangi said to a query.

Though the Authorities planned to issue notices to those who were not present at the time of the verification in Saidapet, ``we need the Election Commission's approval before deciding on the next course of action,'' he said.

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Section  : Southern States
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