In Kedarnath assembly there 206 such names out of total 3187 ETPBS that has either retired or are in long vacation- Ganesh Godiyal
Tuesday, 08 March 2022 | PNS | Dehradun
Ahead of the counting of the votes, the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Ganesh Godiyal has apprehended misuse of Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) issued for the serving armed forces personnel and para military forces in Uttarakhand. In a letter written to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), the PCC president has said that all the bogus ETPBS votes should be cancelled. He said that the list of the postal ballots provided by the district returning officers contain the names of many such persons who have either retired from the service or have died. Godiyal said that in the latest revelation it has come to his notice that in the Kedarnath assembly where the number of ETPBS is 3,187 there are 206 such names that have either retired or are on long vacation and have already exercised their franchise in the elections.
In another letter to CEO, Godiyal said that the postal ballots are needed to be approved by a competent officer but in many cases the rank/ designation of the approving officer is not mentioned. He said the EC should take cognisance of the issue and take necessary action.
The general secretary organization of Uttarakhand Congress Mathura Dutt Joshi said that the Congress party had expressed its apprehension on misuse of the postal ballot earlier also and had demanded that the EC should take appropriate measures in this regard. He said that the abuse of the postal ballots puts a question mark over the claims of a free and fair process of election by EC. Joshi said that EC should act fast on the complaints on the ETPBS and order cancellation of all bogus postal ballots.
In another letter to CEO Uttarakhand Godiyal said that the postal ballots are needed to be approved by a competent officer but in many cases the rank/ designation of the approving officer is not mentioned. He said the EC should take cognisance of the issue and take necessary action.
