New Delhi: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar during the announcement of the dates for the Delhi Assembly Elections on Tuesday, said as people from across the country live in Delhi, it is expected that the maximum number of people should cast their votes.
"People even go to the extent of threatening the polling officers, but we control ourselves because this leads to a lack of equal opportunity. Star campaigners and people involved in political campaigns must take care of etiquette. If someone says something about women, we will behave strongly. This is our warning," Kumar said.
"The Delhi Assembly elections will be held in one phase on February 5 and results will be declared on February 8. As the Union Budget is scheduled to be presented on February 1, I will write a letter to the Cabinet Secretary requesting him not to make any announcement related to Delhi," he said.
"This is my last press conference, so I appeal to the voters to keep the garden of democracy blooming. Eight elections were held in 2024. We have 99 crore registered voters in the country and the number of women electors has exceeded 48 crores. Delhi has its heritage and a different view of diversity is seen here. We hope that Delhi will vote wholeheartedly," Kumar said.
On EVMs, he said there is no evidence of any flaw or unreliability. There is no question of illegal votes being cast in EVMs or it's being bugged. EVMs are completely safe. Allegations of tampering with EVMs are baseless as the Supreme Court and the High Court have reiterated this in various orders. EVMs with VVPATs ensure the accuracy of the voting system. The return of old paper ballots is unfair and regressive.
"EVMs are deployed 7-8 days before the polling day. Candidates are informed about every step through their agents. After the voting is over, Form 17C is filled, which contains detailed information about the EVM. This is given to the agents to ensure everything is fine. The VVPAT installed in the EVM ensures that the person can verify the vote. This is correct and anyone can check it," Kumar said.
Kumar said there is no tampering with the electoral rolls. If more than two per cent of voters' names are deleted in any polling booth, the officials verify them personally. Transparency on the electoral roll is our priority. Every October, the electoral roll revision is undertaken in a phased manner. Names can't be added without the submission of Form 6 or can be deleted without Form 7.
Also Read:
