Shimla, Oct 21 Himachal Pradesh PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh on Wednesday called for conducting elections using paper ballots instead of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and demanded reforms within the Election Commission to safeguard the democratic system and the Constitution.
The Public Works Department (PWD) minister also reiterated the opposition’s key demands, including the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the revocation of the legal immunity granted to Election Commissioners.
Addressing a press conference here, Singh said the opposition and the public are putting their trust in the Supreme Court on this matter, emphasising that necessary reforms must be implemented to strengthen the democratic framework and protect the Constitution.
He was referring to the INDIA bloc members filing a plea at the apex court, challenging the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and alleged voter deletions
Describing the actions taken against opposition leaders and protesters in Delhi as unfortunate, he said the national capital has been turned into “something resembling a military cantonment”.
The Congress MLA expressed concern over the deployment of paramilitary forces and the detention of individuals, alleging that people are being detained at their homes or at airports, with some even being detained while on board aircraft, in an apparent reference to CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke.
On October 10, Dipke was detained from inside the Air India flight, shortly after it landed at Delhi airport, to prevent him from participating in the CJP protest against Kumar.
Singh affirmed that the opposition will continue its struggle to protect democratic rights and the Constitution.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu also suggested that if people harbour any doubts about voting via EVMs, conducting elections using ballot papers could be a viable alternative to address those concerns.
“As far as EVMs are concerned, it would be better to hold elections using ballot papers to dispel any such doubts; there is no disagreement on that,” he said.
Speaking about the ‘Khel Mahakumbh’, which is scheduled to start in Shimla on October 25, Singh said 553 athletes would participate in the event.
He said that the Himachal Sports Culture and Environment Association will organise a ‘Khel Mahakumbh’ in Shimla Rural from October 25 to November 15, as part of the ‘Quit Drugs, Play Sports’ campaign.
He said the 22-day event will include 211 cricket teams, 50 volleyball teams, and 60 teams each (for both men and women) in Kabaddi and Badminton.
Additionally, there will be 100 folk dance teams and 260 tug-of-war teams.
So far, 400 women have registered for the fashion show and modeling segments.
He further said 400 ‘Mahila Mandals’ (women’s groups) will also participate in the event.
The minister said the tug-of-war competition is expected to see the highest number of participants, adding that the objective of this event is to engage the youth in sports and encourage them to stay away from substance abuse.
(PTI News)
