The newly-appointed Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), O.P. Rawat, on Tuesday said the electoral body would resume the exercise of linking voter identity cards to Aadhaar database when the Supreme Court gives its nod.
“About 38 crore Voter IDs are already linked to Aadhaar. The process will be resumed once the Supreme Court gives its nod,” Mr. Rawat told The Hindu , soon after he took charge as the CEC. The Commission’s request to permit the linking is pending before the Supreme Court.
The EC had initiated the exercise in February 2015, but it was suspended later that year after the Court held that Aadhaar could be used for only PDS and LPG distribution schemes.
‘Examining electoral bond scheme’
On electoral bonds, Mr. Rawat said the Commission had communicated its concerns to the government in 2015. “We received the notification about 10 days ago. Our Secretariat is examining its import vis-à-vis our suggestions,” he said.
The Secretariat’s findings would be before the Commission in a couple of days, after which the electoral body will finalise its views and, if necessary, communicate them to the government.
‘AAP didn’t respond to EC notices’
Responding to Aam Aadmi Party’s allegation that its 20 MLAs, who have been disqualified on office-of-profit charge, were not given opportunity to present their case, Mr. Rawat said two notices were issued to them.
“We had issued two comprehensive notices to them, asking for whatever submissions they wanted to make. But, they did not respond in the context of the notices,” he said.
As for the timing of recommendation, the CEC said it was determined by the flow of events. Three Commissioners, including the then CEC Nasim Zaidi and Election Commissioners A.K. Joti and Mr. Rawat, had heard the case.
After Dr. Zaidi retired, his successor Mr. Joti and Mr. Rawat heard the matter. Then Mr. Joti also retired, leaving Mr. Rawat alone in the Bench. The situation warranted that either a decision had to be taken or the case would have to be heard afresh. It had already taken almost two years, he said.
EC to be active in social media
Asserting that recent allegations by political parties had not dented the Commission’s image, Mr. Rawat said to counter “information asymmetry” that distorted perceptions in different quarters, it was EC’s duty to ensure comprehensive information dissemination among all stakeholders.
On Wednesday, the EC is launching a monitoring cell that will keep a close watch on “whatever is propagated through social media” and respond accordingly to ensure that “it is healthy for our electorate” by making suggestions for improving the contents. “You will find our presence in the social media,” he said.
Stating that there was no trust deficit for the EC among political parties, Mr. Rawat said: “Politics is the art of possible and they work on those lines. The Commission has to get 360-degree information on every issue and decide objectively.”
‘EVM controversy yet to die down’
Conceding that EVM controversy had not died down completely, the CEC said the Commission had to work harder to ensure more credibility for the machines among the electorate.
Mr. Rawat, however, said that all kinds of criticism were welcome as they gave an opportunity for further reforms. He said the Commission had never contemplated punitive action against adverse remarks. The EC had earlier sought contempt power to address baseless allegations, but the government refused.
“Let the things unfold…as of today, we are not asking for contempt power,” he said.
The CEC said a decision on extending or universalising the pilot project on matching of VVPAT slips with results at one random polling station in each constituency would be taken on the findings during the recent Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh elections and by-polls, which were yet to be arrived at.
On simultaneous elections, Mr. Rawat said as earlier suggested by the EC, the related laws had to be amended and logistical support provided for.
