Southern States - Tamil Nadu   

VAO certificate no longer valid proof

By Our Special Correspondent

Chennai Feb. 18. In an attempt at preventing large-scale bogus voting in the Sattankulam Assembly constituency, the Election Commission has decided not to allow use of certificates issued by village administrative officers as proof of voter identity, in place of the official Photo ID cards issued by the EC. The EC has also decided not to permit voters showing Slum Clearance Board certificates to exercise their franchise. Instead of the 19 documents earlier allowed, only 17 would be accepted. Bank, farmers' and post office passbooks and ration cards would be allowed, but only if accounts were opened and they were issued on or before 31 December last.

In yet another precautionary measure, the EC has ordered that polling agents must belong to the respective polling station area. "In no circumstance, should a person from outside the area covered by the polling station be appointed by any candidate to act as an agent," according to the Chief Electoral Officer, Mrutunjay Sarangi.

The fiat follows a State Congress outcry against possible misuse of VAO certificates for bogus voting and "mobilisation" of ruling AIADMK activists from other districts for "managing" the booths.

In its petition submitted to the EC yesterday, the Congress demanded that VAO certificates, which had been "misused" in the previous byelections, be removed from the list of documents.

In the Saidapet Assembly byelection last May, repolling was ordered in 58 booths following allegations of large-scale bogus voting with VAO certificates.

The Congress complained also about the large presence of AIADMK men in Sattankulam, allegedly mobilised from outside the constituency.

The EC earlier instructed that only Central government staff, and not the State government employees, be appointed in booths.

And now, for the first time, it has struck off the list of documents the VAO certificates considered the most vulnerable to misuse.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• VAO certificate no longer valid proof
• EC probe into freebies
• Nazareth town observes strike
• `Thanjavur Shatabdi must continue, but make it passenger-friendly'
• New norms for engg. admissions soon
• Documents for voter identity
• False promises to hapless people: Madurai archbishop
• We won't misuse conversion law: CM
• Defamation case against Ganesan, two others

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu