NEW DELHI: The
Election Commission has instructed presiding officers of all booths, particularly in West Bengal, to check and ensure that all candidate buttons on electronic voting machines (EVMs) are clearly visible and not covered with tape, glue or any other material, including colour, ink, perfume or chemical that can compromise the secrecy of votes.
Cases in which candidate buttons are found with the above anomalies are likely to fall under tampering or interference with electronic voting machines (EVM), which is an electoral offence.
EC officials on Tuesday said the commission will not hesitate to take criminal action or order a repoll in such cases.
Wherever instances of tampering are noticed, the presiding officer will immediately inform the sector officer or returning officer.
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Bharti Jain is senior editor with The Times of India, New Delhi. ...
Read MoreBharti Jain is senior editor with The Times of India, New Delhi. She has been writing on security matters since 1996. Having covered the Union home ministry, security agencies, Election Commission and the ‘prime’ political beat, the Congress, for The Economic Times all these years, she moved to TOI in August 2012. Her repertoire of news stories delves into the whole gamut of issues related to terrorism and internal strife, besides probing strategic affairs in India’s neighbourhood.
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