‘Out of your scope’: Govt to ONOE panel on return to ballot papers

Former President Ram Nath Kovind led the high-level committee on ‘one nation, one election (ONOE)’. Pic/Getty Images

The question of holding elections using ballot papers does not fall under the ambit of the joint committee of Parliament examining the two bills on simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies, the Union law ministry is learnt to have said. Reverting to the ballot paper system was a "suggestion" made by some of the members of the joint committee and the law ministry was to respond to it in writing.

While the ministry's legislative department gave elaborate responses to a variety of questions posed to it by the committee, it did not give a direct reply on the suggestion on the ballot paper system. The ministry is learnt to have said that the suggestion on the use of the ballot paper system was "out of scope" of the parliamentary panel.

Sources explained that the committee is mandated to examine the bills on simultaneous polls - the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill - and give its report on whether they are sound enough for the purpose or need changes. Using electronic voting machines (EVMs) or ballot paper for casting votes is not the subject the panel is examining, they underlined.

While the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill lays down a legal framework to hold the Lok Sabha and assembly polls together, the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill seeks to align the terms of legislative assemblies of Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu & Kashmir for the purpose of holding joint elections. Delhi, Puducherry, and Jammu and Kashmir are the three union territories with legislative assemblies.

The government has on multiple occasions told Parliament that it does not favour returning to the ballot paper system and the Supreme Court too has weighed in favour of using EVMs. The top court recently rejected pleas for reviving paper ballots, holding that suspicions regarding tampering of voting machines were "unfounded".

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