PUNJAB NEWS- SEC rules out possibility of creating any bogus vote

Chandigarh, July 3, 2013: The State Election Commissioner S. S. Brar stated that the State Election Commission, Punjab has taken very seriously the allegation appearing in the newspaper as regard to the so called photocopying of ballot papers. 

In an official release here this evening, Brar stated that soon upon noticing this news item, he personally rang up every Deputy Commissioner in the State today to advise them to through a Demi Official letter from the Deputy Commissioner or the Additional Commissioner (Dev.) of the district to fax to him the exact position. 

Brar has stated that he has received replies from all the 22 Deputy Commissioners/ ADC(D) through DO letters by fax received today itself, which are open for inspection. 

18 Deputy Commissioners/ Additional Deputy Commissioners have stated that they have had no contact with any printing press in Jalandhar.  Deputy Commissioners, Kapurthala stated that he got this printed from Jalandhar. It has further been stated that ballot papers with regard to their districts were printed either within their own district or at SAS Nagar and one at Amritsar. 

Only three districts have given a contract to two printing presses at Jalandhar.

The Deputy Commissioner, Jalandhar has made available the report of the printer who has stated that no photocopier was used that these ballot papers were done on digital printing machine or on offset printing machines.  Large quantity of ballot papers were printed on off set printing machines and the lesser quantities on digital printing presses.  Computers were also attached to each machine to which dummy papers were fed and corrections made.  The printing work was carried out in their two printing presses at Jalandhar. 

Keeping in view the large number of employees involved, the marriage palace were hired for the purposes of preparation of dummy ballot papers and proof reading only.  Officers from the four districts were associated with this work at that place.  The ballot papers were numerically numbered through machines.  It has also been stated that it is not possible to print 50-60 lacs of ballot papers for these four districts on photo copiers. 

He said similar are the replies from the Deputy Commissioners, Jalandhar, Amritsar and Hoshiarpur wherein they by and large said that with regard to news item report in Hindustan Times, it is stated that Photostat machines were not used for the printing of ballot papers, but were used for the purposes of correcting dummy ballot papers/ proof reading/ validation and such other sundry purposes only. They have further confirmed that security supervision was adequate as also the fact that ballot papers were serial numbered and fully accounted for.

Brar said from the above, it is clear that there is no truth in any allegation of making ballot papers through photocopy. He stated that over one crore and seventy seven lac votes are needed for the election and there is not even the remotest possibility of getting those printed through photocopiers least of all through a small photocopier as has appeared in the newspaper 

Brar further stated that each and every Deputy Commissioner has reported that ballot papers are serial numbered, these are accounted for and handed over to the Presiding Officers and the Presiding Officers as per Chapter 3 in the instructions book to the Presiding Officers as mentioned at Sr. No.5 will sign the counter foil and the ballot paper that will be issued to the voter.  Given this pre-condition, it is totally baseless to say that photocopied or even a ballot paper printed at some other press could be used for polling. 

He further stated that Annexure V of the Presiding Officer diary requires every Presiding Officer to indicate as under:

i)         Polling station name and number;

ii)        Total number of voters given for voting from serial number to serial number, one to seven hundred;

iii)       Ballot paper issued to voters for polling of votes out of (ii) above as per Serial Numbers say 1 to 650 voters.

iv)        Finally it is also required that after the poll is over, the Presiding Officer will give accounts of the ballot papers as per Panchayat Election Rules 33(i)(j). 

This, thus rules out the possibility of creating any bogus vote, he said.