Bharat Rakshak

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday said that electronic voting machines (EVMs), that have come to be the backbone of elections in India, are not “tamper-proof”.

Giving its ruling on a petition, the HC bench comprising Acting Chief Justice AK Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw said it was not impossible to tamper with the EVMs but added that it is difficult to issue any directions to the Election Commission in this regard.

However, the court added that the EC should itself consider a way out of it to put to rest all the doubts.


The petitioner had asked the High Court that either a paper trail be incorporated to record the votes cast through EVMs or return to the old system of paper ballots.

The bench had earlier reserved its verdict on the plea till today.

The petitioner had contended that there was lack of transparency in EVMs.

European countries like the UK, the US and Japan have rejected the EVMs due to their failure and they preferred paper ballots for their elections, the petitioner had said.

Seeking the court's direction, he also said "the EVM's brain, micro controller is being manufactured in foreign countries like Japan, which themselves do not use the machine due to its demerits".

The EC, however, opposed the plea saying that returning to the paper ballots would not be feasible as it would require immense expenditure as there are now over 73 crore voters in the country.

"The machine (EVM) accommodates as many as 64 party symbols and because of electronically organised data, the counting became faster," the EC’s counsel had said.

The Delhi High Court has said that there is no evidence to back petitioner and Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy's plea that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) can be tampered with.

The High Court has called for wider consultations before a decision is taken

and said that it is difficult to issue any directions to the Election Commission (EC) on EVMs as of now.

In his plea, Swamy had demanded that receipts be given for ballots cast on EVMs claiming that the EVM system was not transparent.
Earlier, Swamy and the EC, represented by lawyer Ashok Desai, had concluded the arguments.

"The EC should return to the ballot system to avoid tampering as there was lack of transparency in EVMs at the time of polls," Swamy had said.

Either paper printouts should be incorporated in the EVMs by the EC or it should return to the ballot paper system as EVMs are not tamper-proof, he said.

European countries like the UK, the US and Japan have rejected them (EVMs) due to their failure and they preferred paper ballots for their elections, he had said.

Seeking the court's direction, he also said, "The EVM's brain, micro controller is being manufactured in foreign countries like Japan, which themselves do not use the machine due to its demerits."

The EC, however, opposed the plea saying that returning to the paper ballots would not be feasible as it would require immense expenditure as there are over 73 crore voters.

"The machine (EVM) accommodates as many as 64 party symbols and because of electronically organised data, the counting became faster," Desai, appearing for the EC, had said.

nawabs wrote: At the same time,IBN comes out with a different version of the story
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/no-evidence- ... 37-64.html

However, the court added that the EC should itself consider a way out of it to put to rest all the doubts.

"The machine (EVM) accommodates as many as 64 party symbols and because of electronically organised data, the counting became faster," the EC’s counsel had said.

vikramd wrote:

However, the court added that the EC should itself consider a way out of it to put to rest all the doubts.

fair decision, its now upto EC to prove for once and all EVM's are either hack-proof or revert to paper ballots

sukhish wrote:I think Anna and his party will qualify for free RSS membership

@PTI_News Press Trust of India
Delhi court reserves order for Feb 4 on Subramanian Swamy's plea for prosecution of Home Minister P Chidambaram in 2G case.

Hazare’s silence

There is a protracted silence on the part of Anna Hazare which is demoralising the activists of the Jan Lokpal movement in Delhi, who were banking on Hazare taking a proactive approach in the ongoing Assembly elections. Hazare has not issued any statement ever since he fell ill and called off his fast on December 27. Hazare’s poor health is not the only reason for concern for the activists. They suspect that the Congress has used the services of a Pune-based industrialist, a close associate of former Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, and a group of Hazare’s Maharashtrian friends to influence him. When People Against Corruption leader Arvind Kejriwal went to Ralegan Siddhi to meet Hazare, he got only a 30-minute audience, although he had hoped to hold discussions for half-a-day. Most cryptically, Hazare told him to prepare for 2014.

http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/902441/

In a bid to project a non-partisan face, Anna Hazare and his team today shot off a series of letters to leaders, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi and BJP president Nitin Gadkari, trying to put them on the mat on the Lokpal issue ahead of Assembly polls in five states.

UP Chief Minister Mayawati and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav were the other recipients of letters signed by Hazare and his team members Shanti Bhushan, Prashant Bhushan, Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi.

While in the letter to Singh, signed only by Hazare, the Prime Minister is asked to show some courage to withdraw the "weak" Lokpal Bill and bring a stronger one, the one to Gandhi asked the Congress leader whether his party will dare bring a law on the lines of "strong" Lokayukta law in Uttarakhand.

Gadkari was questioned as to why his party did not insist on Nitish Kumar government in Bihar in which it is a partner bringing a strong Lokayukta law like the one passed by BJP government in Uttarakhand. He was also asked why BJP changed tracks on bringing Lokayuktas through Lokpal bill.

Team Anna also found fault with BSP chief Mayawati for not opposing the bill in the Standing Committee and staging a walkout in Lok Sabha which, they alleged, helped the UPA government pass it in the Lower House.

Yadav, on the other hand, "strongly" opposed the bill in the Standing Committee but walked out in Lok Sabha, the Team Anna letter to him said while asking him to clear whether he would go with Congress or BJP after the UP elections.

Warning the Prime Minister that the fight for a strong anti-corruption ombudsman will not end till Jan Lokpal Bill is not passed, Hazare said in his letter, "You are 80-year-old now. The country has given you everything. Now people are asking something in return. Show some courage."

"You have put your government on stake for nuclear bill, which was wrong. Show some courage to bring Lokpal to fight corruption. We don't know whether Congress will give you another chance as Prime Minister but if you do this, the country will always remember you," he said.

Warning the Prime Minister that the fight for a strong anti-corruption ombudsman will not end till Jan Lokpal Bill is not passed, Hazare said in his letter, "You are 80-year-old now. The country has given you everything. Now people are asking something in return. Show some courage."

"You have put your government on stake for nuclear bill, which was wrong. Show some courage to bring Lokpal to fight corruption. We don't know whether Congress will give you another chance as Prime Minister but if you do this, the country will always remember you," he said.

In this special Rediff.com series, we dwell into the psyche of voters, the personalities of leaders and the socio-cultural lives of the people of Uttar Pradesh.

The series begins with Arundhati Dhuru, a Lucknow resident.

Originally a Mumbai native, Dhuru is a leader of the National Alliance of People's Movements. With her husband, Magsaysay Award winner Dr Sandeep Pandey (this is same terrorist supporting, Islamic terrorist/PAKI supporting SCUM, Wagah Candle kisser who walked to the border) , she has been deeply engaged in education, grassroots empowerment and issues related to food security. She spoke to Sheela Bhatt.

'The BJP will do well in towns and cities'

Most probably, we will see the BSP lose seats, but still in the reckoning. The SP and BJP will be in second and third positions; the Congress may end up last.

The BJP will do well in the towns and cities. The traders support the BJP. I see a lot of polarisation taking place. It is obviously helped by (Congress General Secretary) Digvijay Singh and (senior Samajwadi Party leader) Azam Khan.

This controversy about Salman Rushdie and the Deoband's reactions may add to the BJP's gains.

In Uttar Pradesh many people are talking about the Peace Party started by Dr Mohammad Ayub. Probably, the BJP will gain out of it. It is going to help the BJP in the polarisation of voters on communal lines.

In Jaunpur people were talking about it (the Peace Party). I found it difficult to tell people that it is actually going to divide Muslim votes. And that will help primarily the BJP only.

He said in response to the letters sent by him to all political parties asking for their acceptance on seven points including declaring black money stashed in foreign banks as national assets and others, only two parties-- BJP and CPI gave their acceptance.

Sahara's 'sensational' UP polls survey creates ripples

Can you imagine that in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh [ Images ] assembly election Bharitya Janta Party can get almost 24 per cent votes to come second in the four-cornered contest between ruling Bahujan Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party, Congress and BJP?


Can you imagine the situation where all efforts of Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi [ Images ] could fail and it can come fourth in the upcoming election?

Can you foresee that Chief Minister Mayawati [ Images ] can lose power in a disgraceful defeat?

In a highly controversial and sensational survey done by Lucknow-based Sahara India [ Images ] Parivar, Mulayam Singh Yadav-led SP would get the highest percentage of votes of around 26 per cent?

SP will be followed by BJP, and BSP would come third with fewer votes if compared to BJP, the survey noted.

The survey known as "Sahara Survey" in New Delhi [ Images ] gave less than 15 per cent votes to the Congress party.

Since last two weeks this survey has created a sensation in New Delhi amongst the top leadership of both the Congress and BJP.

Subrata Roy Sahara, chairman of Sahara Pariwar, has met BJP president Nitin Gadkari [ Images ] recently to apprise him of the survey which gives BJP massive increase of 7 per cent votes compared to the election of 2007.

India has signed a multi-lateral agreement to check tax evasion.

Taking another step towards combating blackmoney, India has signed a multi-lateral agreement with economic powers like France and Germany to check both tax evasion and avoidance.

The agreement, convention on mutual administrative assistance in tax matters, is a multilateral agreement of 31 other nations which "promotes international co-operation while respecting the rights of taxpayers ."

The agreement has been signed under the aegis of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a top global financial body, at its headquarters in Paris recently.

A Finance Ministry official said the agreement was signed by CBDT official and Joint Secretary in foreign tax division of Finance Ministry Sanjay K Mishra along with OECD Deputy Secretary General Rintaro Tamakio.

"The convention provides for administrative co-operation between the parties in the assessment and collection of taxes with a view to combating tax avoidance and evasion," an OECD statement said in this regard.

By joining the agreement, India and other 31 signatories, according to OECD, "send a strong signal that countries are acting together to ensure that individuals and multinational enterprises pay the right amount of tax, at the right time and in the right place."

"India has moved very quickly since its commitment to the convention at the November G20 ceremony in Cannes and I expect it will be the first non-OECD G20 country for which the updated convention is in force", Jeffrey Owens, Director of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration said in a statement on Thursday.

Spelling out that his next phase of agitation would be to achieve "power for the people", veteran social activist Anna Hazare today said time had come for the masses to enjoy the fruits of democracy.

"Today power is concentrated in Mantralaya (secretariat)in Mumbai or in Delhi. There is a need for decentralisation of power," Hazare said after unfurling the tricolour at the Republic Day celebrations in his village here in western Maharashtra.

"Anna has indicated that so far the fight was for a strong Lokpal. That would continue. However, today he spoke about broadening the movement and making it a campaign to achieve decentralisation of power," the Gandhian's aide Datta Awari told PTI.

The meaning of the word Republic is "power to the people".However, that is not the case today, Hazare said.

Bollywood actor Anupam Kher, who attended the programme, said that he would provide free training to Ralegan youth at his acting institute in Mumbai. Kher had also attended Hazare's fast in Mumbai last month.

New Delhi, January 28, 2012 | UPDATED 14:51 IST
Suffering from ill health, activist Anna Hazare will be brought to the national capital on Sunday and admitted to Medanta Hospital in suburban Gurgaon in Haryana, an associate said on Saturday.

"Because of the hard antibiotics that were being administered to him, Anna ji has had some side effects," the associate said.

"He will stay in Medanta for two days, and then will be shifted to Jindal Naturecare Institute of Bangalore," he added.

Hazare, 74, was admitted to a hospital at the end of December, after breaking his fast in Mumbai as he suffered from chest infection.

He was discharged from Pune's Sancheti Hospital on January 8 and was recommended at least a month's rest by the doctors.

So, let’s get this straight. Even the Prime Minister discloses his assets every year, but Sonia Gandhi, the real power behind the throne, will not?

And, Mrs Gandhi, you’re so wrong that there isn’t any public interest in knowing details of how well you’re doing. There palpably is.

Of course, in normal circumstances, such details come under the realm of confidential information. But in a democracy such as ours, in the interests of transparency of government, there ought not to be high walls surrounding the personal assets of our elected leaders. Even if they are only puppeters who pull the strings.

So, Mrs Gandhi, will you please go public with the details now? And also let us know what “security risks” are involved in making such information public.

vikramd wrote:The Big Secret: What’s really there in Sonia’s tax returns?

So, let’s get this straight. Even the Prime Minister discloses his assets every year, but Sonia Gandhi, the real power behind the throne, will not?

And, Mrs Gandhi, you’re so wrong that there isn’t any public interest in knowing details of how well you’re doing. There palpably is.

Of course, in normal circumstances, such details come under the realm of confidential information. But in a democracy such as ours, in the interests of transparency of government, there ought not to be high walls surrounding the personal assets of our elected leaders. Even if they are only puppeters who pull the strings.

So, Mrs Gandhi, will you please go public with the details now? And also let us know what “security risks” are involved in making such information public.

http://www.firstpost.com/india/the-big- ... 23773.html

sum wrote:Now what is the deal with Firstpost and the G-khandaan?I have never seen any other outlet even coming close to the kind of aggressive articles on the first family!!

This resembles what the BJP leaders have to endure from all the other media outlets who scrutinize every small move even a peon in the BJP office makes!!