Defection cases 8212; CEC ready to adjudicate

PANAJI, MARCH 21: Chief Election Commissioner CEC M S Gill on Sunday said in Goa that the Election Commission is prepared to adjudicate...

PANAJI, MARCH 21: Chief Election Commissioner CEC M S Gill on Sunday said in Goa that the Election Commission is prepared to adjudicate in matters pertaining to defection by elected representatives. 8220;It would be a duty and a burden and not power and pleasure for us if Parliament vests this responsibility on the Election Commission,8221; Gill told the media.

The CEC who was in Goa to inaugurate the public demonstration of electronic voting machines EVMs in the state was urged by members of the public to postpone elections till November. Such was popular disenchantment with local politicians over the political defection dramas in the last seven months that a large crowd gathered at Panaji8217;s Azad Maidan cheered Gill as he denounced defections.

The CEC however expressed helplessness in postponing the elections till November as President8217;s Rule in the state expires in August this year.Gill also told the media that the Assembly polls in Goa which will be held before the monsoons will see large scale use ofthe EVMs. Goa could be the first state in the country where EVMs were used in all polling booths.Gill who arrived in Goa on Saturday met with Governor JFR Jacob and senior officials. He also enquired about revision of electoral rolls which is scheduled to be completed in April.

Gill informed that the voters8217; list will be published in book form and widely circulated to prevent bogus voting. It will also be made available on CD-ROMs for easy accessibility. The state administration has now been instructed to demonstrate the use of EVMs at the taluka level in the state.The machine was very successfully used in the recent election in the country and the political parties had appreciated it, he said. The entire deal had cost the EC only Rs 75 crore, he said.