Fraudulent Electrol Rolls

There have been reports from all over the country as to how names are being fraudulently included in the electoral rolls.

This is especially so in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmadnagar, Kolkata etc.

For a change the Chief Electoral Officer in Delhi proposes to stop inclusion of spurious names to the voters list.

Will he survive in his post? For how long?

3 lakh fake Delhi addresses

MORE THAN three lakh people in the Capital used fraudulent methods in an unsuccessful attempt to get their names included in the new photoelectoral roll. During investigation of lakhs of suspicious forms, the office of chief election officer, Delhi, found that 30 per cent of the 10 lakh applications received in the past 15 days were fake.

Chief electoral officer Satbir S. Bedi said an excessive number of Form- 6, for inclusion in the electoral roll, had been submitted in the recent months. About 10 lakh such forms were received within two weeks.

“There is no demographic explanation of such ahuge receipt of Form No. 6within two weeks. Investigation was initiated and it was found that over 30 per cent of such forms contained false addresses.”

Several teams from the election office were sent to verify the details given in the forms. Officials said in many cases, FIRs had been registered and action would be taken.
Kumar Vikram

RTI: CIC raps President’s Secretariat.

A callous UP government compels a widow to run from pilar to post

Teacher’s widow awaits pension,

Waiiiiiiiiiiiiiting to meet the President

By Bhuvan Bagga in New Delhi

FOR THE last three years, the widow of a Rampur school principal has been running from pillar to post to get his pension. Noor Saba has also been trying to meet the President, but to no avail. Noor also filed aright to information (RTI) application with the President’s secretariat to know why she hasn’t got an appointment.

Last week, the Central Information Commission (CIC) rapped the President’s secretariat for not giving specific reply to Noor. “The President’s secretariat is cautioned to be more definite in its responses to the RTI applications,” the CIC order stated.

An official from the President’s secretariat said: “The information Noor sought has been gathered and would be provided to her. Her application for meeting the President has been forwarded again.”

Noor’s ordeal began two decades ago when her husband, Masood Umar Khan, died. “He had received India’s highest honours. In 1961, Dr Rajendra Prasad gave him the meritorious service medal and in 1975, he got the President’s efficiency award,” said Noor. “After my father’s death, no one from the education department in UP bothered to give pension or subsistence allowance to us,” said Abid Umar Khan.

UP family takes RTI route to get an appointment with Patil

“In 2002, as amark of protest, we wrote to the Prime Minister to take all the medals the government gave to my father. All this even as we carried on our fight against the UP administration in court. My mother first sought an appointment with the President on June 9, 2005. Half adozen letters later, we haven’t get an appointment,” Abid said.

It was then that someone suggested the RTI route to the tired and helpless Khan family. “We asked the President’s secretariat to explain the circumstances and the reasons for not giving us an appointment. We also sought a reply on the action taken on our application to know whether it has been rejected by the President or is still under process,” Abid said.

“We thought an RTI application would spur them into action, but their vague responses and insufficient replies agitated us even further. The CIC response has finally given us some hope.

The commission has asked the secretariat to respond to our specific queries at the earliest,” Abid said. When MAIL TODAY contacted the President’s secretariat, the chief public information officer at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, Faiz A. Kidwai, acknowledged the delay and CIC’s rap. “There were some issues regarding this case. Our officer on special duty PR Archana Dutta will issue aclarification soon.

There seemed to be some confusion vis- à- vis the communication with Rampur’s district magistrate,” Kidwai said. When asked why Noor hasn’t been able to get an appointment with the President, Kidwai put the onus on President’s personal section. “Iwouldn’t be able to comment on this.

The matter comes under the President’s personal section. Moreover, it’s the President’s prerogative,” he added. Meanwhile, Noor and her son are still awaiting aresponse from the President’s secretariat as per CIC’s order.

“We think our request for meeting Pratibha Patil has been expedited, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed,” Noor said.
bhuvan. bagga@ mailtoday. in

Kerala Temples: Holiday Rush:Waiting for Darshan

Waiting for Darshan can be up to 4 hours in major temples like Guruvayoor.

Please make programs accordingly.

Holiday Season

Summer when the schools and colleges are closed.

Dusserah: when schools may close for a week or more

Chrismas and New Year: When schools may close for up to two weeks.

Waiting time for darshan at temples like Guruvayoor can last as much as 4 hours. Devotees should take note of this delay when making their program. Possibility of a second darshan is remote unless you stay over night.

In many temples like Guruvayoor there is a separate Que for ladies. Even so it can take up to an hour even for ladies.

Rush of pilgrims during the holiday season, has resulted in a massive number of devotees thronging to visit temples.

Schools and colleges had closed, and parents thought this was an excellant time to take their children out. Movement of Keralite families especially from the north to south is at a peak during the summer holidays, when a visit to ‘native place, is a must.

Obviously a visit to Guruvayoor, Chottanikkara, Vaikom, etc are considered a must by most.

Ed

(The above is based on the expierences of Guruswamy SA Padmanabhan, and Shri Mohan Krishnan and the Ed and their families who are regular visitors to Kerala)