Returning officer casts vote for panchayat members

A returning officer assigned to hold election to the post of president and vice-president in Kyasamballi Gram Panchayat in Kolar could be in trouble after he cast votes on behalf of illiterate members.

The election process was scheduled on Friday and among the total 18 members in the gram panchayat, four members – three women and one man – expressed their inability to read and requested permission to cast their votes with the help of others, sources said.

Reacting to their plea, RO Narayanaswamy allegedly informed the members that casting of votes by outsiders might invite trouble. He, however, offered to cast the votes on behalf of these members, sources said, adding that the RO cast the votes on the instructions of the members.

Incidentally, Kyasamballi is the native of Kyasamballi Chengalaraya Reddy, the first Chief Minister of Karnataka.

When contacted, Assistant Commissioner C.N. Manjunath told The Hindu that an RO cannot exercise the vote on any member’s behalf. “Rather, the RO can only guide the members on this and make them cast their votes,” he said.

Meanwhile, Shailaja S., vice-president of Association of Local Governance in India (ALGI) has expressed concern over the curse of illiteracy still prevalent in society. ALGI is a forum of local rural and urban bodies and striving to educate and empower the members at grass root levels.

However, justifying election of illiterate members to gram panchayats, Shailaja, a former vice-president of Doddurkarapanahalli gram panchayat in Kolar district, said, “Literacy alone won’t count in running the local government. They can get the information gathered by trusted people; and physical verification is more important in implementing the schemes which the illiterate members also can do.”