‘Out of your scope’: Government to ONOE JPC on reverting to ballot paper

NEW DELHI: Union ministry of regulation has informed the joint parliamentary committee on simultaneous polls that the choice to use Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) or ballot papers for casting votes doesn’t fall underneath its ambit after some of the members “suggested” reverting to ballot papers, information company PTI reported citing sources.
Responding to the ideas made by the JPC in writing, the ministry mentioned that it was “out of scope” of the parliamentary panel to counsel the use of ballot paper system.
“Whether to use Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) or ballot papers for casting votes is not the subject the panel is examining,” they underlined.
According to PTI, the ministry answered some of the questions, whereas some others have been despatched to the Election Commission for a calibrated response.
The authorities has on a number of events informed Parliament that it doesn’t favour returning to the ballot paper system and the Supreme Court too has weighed in favour of utilizing EVMs.
The Supreme Court additionally rejected pleas for reviving paper ballots, holding that suspicions relating to tampering of voting machines have been “unfounded”.
The ministry has additionally informed the committee that holding simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies shouldn’t be undemocratic and doesn’t damage the federal construction.
The Committee is predicted to submit its report by the primary day of the final week of the following parliamentary session. However, given the complexity of the topic, its tenure could also be prolonged.
The authorities has touted the ‘One Nation, One Election’ framework as a transformative reform to streamline governance, scale back election-related bills, and reduce the disruption brought on by frequent electoral cycles.
However, the initiative has drawn criticism from some opposition events, who argue that it might centralize energy and undermine federalism.
Elections have been held concurrently up to now earlier than the cycle was damaged due to varied causes, together with the imposition of President’s rule in some states.