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New Indian Express
13 hours ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Have clarified all queries of BJD, Cong; Odisha SIR to start next month: CEO
BHUBANESWAR: Days after the BJD announced that it will move the Orissa High Court over large-scale irregularities in 2024 Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in the state, chief electoral officer (CEO) of Odisha RS Gopalan on Monday said the Commission has already responded to the points raised by the BJD twice. The CEO also said that the special intensive revision (SIR) of voters list will be conducted in the state from next month. Addressing a media-conference here, Gopalan said the ECI has responded to all issues raised by political parties, especially the BJD and state Congress, and assured the public of a fair and transparent electoral process. 'Baseless allegations should not be made to undermine the credibility of the Election Commission or shake the public's trust in the democratic process,' he added. The BJD had submitted memorandum to the ECI in November last year alleging that there were large-scale irregularities in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections including discrepancies in number of votes cast in the EVM and those counted. The party had also raised the differences in the number of votes in the Assembly segments and Parliamentary constituencies. The party has announced that it will move the Orissa High Court on the issue as no steps have been initiated by the poll body to satisfactorily address its concerns. While stating that all the queries of BJD and also Congress have been responded to in detail, Gopalan said the first point raised by the BJD was about discrepancies in the number of votes in the EVM and after counting. It has been clarified earlier that in such cases counting is done taking into account the VVPAT slips. 'Some discrepancies occur due to non-deletion of mock poll data in a control unit. Counting is done through VVPAT slips in case the margin is less than the total votes polled in the EVMs,' he said.
Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Odisha ready for SIR, may be held in Sept-Oct
Bhubaneswar: Odisha is planning to conduct a special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral roll in Sept-Oct, after a gap of 24 years, authorities said on Monday. "The Election Commission of India (ECI) has already stated that this (SIR) will be conducted in every state. We are prepared, although we have not received any concrete timeline so far," chief electoral officer (CEO) R S Gopalan said while commenting on the state's plan during an informal interacting with the media. "Normally, around Sept-Oct, a summary revision of the voter list is done. The ECI will decide soon whether SIR will be conducted around the same time this year," he said amid an intense political debate over the SIR in Bihar. As part of the SIR, voters will have to fill out an enumeration form, which can be done physically or online, Gopalan said. The SIR involves door-to-door verification of voters and rationalisation of booths. As part of the electoral roll revision, the number of polling booths in Odisha will increase by 7,000 from 38,000 to 45,000, the CEO added. Gopalan said since 90% of voters in Odisha are Aadhaar-linked, there is a very low chance of large-scale discrepancies after the exercise is completed by Jan. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Is it better to shower in the morning or at night? Here's what a microbiologist says CNA Read More Undo by Taboola by Taboola Recently, Odisha changed the EPIC (Electors Photo Identity Card) numbers of 7,000 voters as the numbers were identical to those of voters in some other states, he said. As part of preparations for the SIR exercise, chief secretary Manoj Ahuja had last month asked the department concerned and district administrations to ensure various posts related to the exercise, such as district election officer, electoral registration officer (ERO), and assistant EROs, are not vacant. Officers occupying these positions would not be transferred without EC approval. According to the existing voter list, as of Jan 1, Odisha has a total of 3.40 crore voters, including 1.72 crore men, 1.68 crore women and 3,434 other voters. The voters include 15 lakh in the 18-19 age group and 6.7 lakh who are 80 years and above. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Govt asks dept to include ‘transgender' in gender category
Bhubaneswar: In a significant move towards inclusivity, the state govt has directed all departments to incorporate "Transgender" as a distinct gender category in application forms for recruitment to various govt positions. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now This directive was communicated through a letter from the department of social security and empowerment of persons with disabilities (SSEPD). The letter, penned by SSEPD secretary RS Gopalan, emphasises the importance of non-discrimination against transgender persons in employment, as outlined in the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019. Gopalan highlighted the need for all relevant examination rules to be updated to align with the Act's provisions, ensuring that transgender individuals are recognised as a separate category in recruitment processes. "All departments of the Government of Odisha are requested to modify the relevant examination rules to include 'Transgender' as a separate gender category in application forms for state govt posts," the letter states. It further instructs that any form or application, whether online or in hard copy, must provide an option for applicants to identify as transgender. The SSEPD department has requested that all departments report back on the actions taken to implement these changes. The transgender community has welcomed the decision of the govt. "It is a fight for over 30 years. It is a great win for the transgender community. We thanked the govt for this historic decision," Meghna Sahoo, a member of the transgender community, said.
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Application forms for Odisha govt exams to have transgender category
BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to remove any discrimination towards people belonging to the third-gender in the government recruitment process, the state government has asked all its departments to include transgender as a separate category in examination rules. In a letter to heads of all departments, commissioner-cum-secretary of Social Security & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities RS Gopalan urged them to include 'third gender/any other category' in the application forms in recruitment to various posts under the state government. All departments have been asked to modify the relevant examination rules, providing for inclusion of transgender as a separate category of gender in the application forms for various posts of the government. Besides, wherever the gender of the applicant is sought in any form or application, both online and offline, the departments have been asked to create a separate column or box for transgender. The Section 9 and 10 of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, mandates that no establishment shall discriminate against any transgender person in any matter relating to employment including recruitment, promotion and other related issues. The Act allows self-perception of gender identity and also mandates that the person would have to be recognised as transgender on the basis of a certificate of identity issued by district magistrate. Sources said following the Act, the state government had in 2020 directed all departments to modify the relevant examination rules providing for inclusion of transgender category. However, owing to non-compliance by some departments, the SSEPD department had to ask them to make the said exam rules in conformity with the provisions of the Act.
