Politics heated up on Thursday over the issue of former Chief Minister Harish Rawat not voting in the municipal elections and the names of voters missing from the voter list. Congress is aggressive on this issue. Even after the District Election Officer informed that the name is in the voter list, the party has termed it as a mere clarification. State Congress President Karan Mahara said that when Harish Rawat’s name was being searched in the voter list, the Election Commission officials kept avoiding discharging their responsibility. At the same time, Leader of Opposition Yashpal Arya has described this case as an attempt to strangle democracy by misusing the government machinery.
State Congress President Karan Mahara said that former Chief Minister Harish Rawat was deprived of voting. When the Congress raised questions on the functioning of the Election Commission regarding his name not being in the voter list, the District Election Officer is releasing the voter list to give clarification. Harish Rawat and his wife are senior citizens. Their name was searched in the voter list throughout the day, but was not found. The commission did not show promptness in this regard at the same time. He said that such reports have been received from Dharampur, Bhagwanpur and Doiwala assembly constituencies that a large number of voters could not exercise their franchise due to their names not being in the voter list. On the other hand, Leader of Opposition Yashpal Arya said that the Election Commission should have ensured transparency and smooth process for voting. In the last general election, the names of a large number of voters who exercised their franchise were not in the voter list. The commission had issued 10 helpline numbers, but they were told that calls were not being picked up on these numbers. He said that trust in the electoral process is the biggest need of democracy. Otherwise the same fingers that are raised with pride after voting will also start being raised on the intentions of the government.
