Bangalore: All efforts will be made to ensure free and fair Assembly polls in Karnataka, Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath said on Tuesday after reviewing arrangements with the state administration.
On the suggestion of political parties and in view of the severe hot conditions, the EC has decided to advance the poll timings by an hour to 7 am, he told reporters.
Sampath, along with Election Commissioners HS Brahma and SNA Zaidi on the second visit of the full Commission to Karnataka, had discussions with political parties, deputy commissioners, superintendents of police, inspector generals and also with the chief secretary, home secretary, the DGP and senior Income Tax department officials.
Responding to a question on Karnataka High Court ordering emergent notices to the Election Commission besides Congress President Sonia Gandhi and state PCC chief G Parameshwara on a petition seeking a probe into alleged collection of funds from party members seeking tickets for the May 5 state Assembly polls, Samapath "we are yet to be served the notice"....
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07:52 PM, Apr 09, 2013
Bangalore: Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath will visit Bangalore on Monday to assess the city's poll preparedness for the May 5 Assembly elections. Sampath along with Election Commissioners HS Brahma and SNA Zaidi will hold a meeting with representatives of all political parties on Monday and hear their grievances. They will hold another meeting of top election officials on Tuesday to discuss threadbare the poll and security arrangements. The poll...
08:37 AM, Apr 08, 2013
As the debate to strengthen India's sexual assault law continues, former chief election commissioner T Krishnamurthy has suggested immediate suspension of MPs and MLAs facing criminal charges. He also says that jurisdiction of these cases should be in fast-track courts. ...
08:55 AM, Jan 08, 2013
Islamabad: Pakistan Attorney General Irfan Qadir created a ruckus in the courtroom Thursday by using "abusive remarks" against the Supreme Court judges and some "vulgar gesture", Geo News reported. The incident occurred when the apex court was hearing identical petitions challenging National Assembly Speaker Fehmida Mirza's ruling not to pass on the disqualification reference against Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to the Election Commission. On June 6, the court had...
02:00 PM, Jun 15, 2012
New Delhi: Veeravalli Sundaram Sampath has taken over as the new Chief Election Commissioner, succeeding SY Quraishi. Sampath was appointed as the Chief Election Commissioner last week, and will preside over the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. VS Sampath is the 18th CEC of India. A low-profile bureaucrat, who has had stints in various capacities in Andhra Pradesh and Delhi, Sampath was Power Secretary at the Centre before he was appointed...
12:03 PM, Jun 11, 2012
New Delhi: Veeravalli Sundaram Sampath on Monday will take over as the 18th Chief Election Commissioner of India at the EC headquarters in the Capital. A 1973 batch IAS officer, 62-year-old Sampath will take over from SY Quraishi whose term came to an end on Sunday. Sampath, who was appointed as the CEC last week, will preside over the next Lok Sabha elections in 2014. A low-profile bureaucrat, who has...
01:19 AM, Jun 11, 2012
On his last day in office as Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) SY Qureshi rejected senior BJP leader LK Advani's demand for a collegium to choose the Election Commissioner and also Team Anna's demand for a Right to Recall MPs. Qureshi said that his greatest regret was he was unable to stop money power in elections. Qureshi spoke to CNN-IBN's Deputy Chief of Bureau Pallavi Ghosh. Here is an excerpt of...
08:38 AM, Jun 10, 2012
New Delhi: Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for speeding up long-pending electoral reforms. Sources said the poll panel chief in his letter said that the reforms, including preventing people with criminal backgrounds from contesting elections, should be "expeditiously considered and approved". Although the contents of the letter were not available, official sources said the poll panel had been suggesting steps to...
07:48 PM, Apr 13, 2012
New Delhi: India's Chief Election Commissioner, SY Quraishi has finally "surrendered" to the Twitter. And Quraishi says he has to thank the youth of the country and his son for it. Posting his maiden tweet, Quraishi, the head of the Election Commission, wrote, "At last, I have surrendered to twitter! Thanks to my son @mustafaquraishi and the youth of India for inspiring me." In opening a Twitter account, Quraishi has...
12:59 AM, Mar 01, 2012
New Delhi: The 62-64 per cent turn out of voters in the first phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday was a record, Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi said. "This is for the eleventh time in a row that recorded a higher turnout. All the ten previous polls have shown higher voter turnout compared to the previous times," he said. Quraishi attributed it to the efforts of the...
09:49 PM, Feb 08, 2012
Election Commissioner HS Brahma said that the order for the poll officer's transfer was prepared before Robert Vadra's rally. ...
04:44 PM, Feb 07, 2012
New Delhi: Asking government to take up electoral reforms in the coming session of Parliament, Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi on Sunday said the time has come to consider the Right to Reject proposal. The CEC rejected the suggestion for state funding of elections, saying "this will only further add to the problem and not curb the use of money power in elections". "We hope the government will bring about...
07:54 PM, Jan 29, 2012
New Delhi: Election Commissioner VS Sampath on Monday brushed aside criticism of the directive to cover statues of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati and the party symbol of elephant in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh and said the decision was in accordance with the model code of conduct. In an exclusive interview, he spoke to IBN 18 Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai. Here is the full transcript of the interview: Rajdeep Sardesai: Let's...
10:03 PM, Jan 09, 2012
New Delhi: Team Anna's conduct will be monitored during the assembly elections in five states, Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi said on Sunday, adding that its campaign against a 'particular party' could become an issue of propriety. "They (Team Anna) will be monitored like everybody else," Quraishi said. "So far they have not violated any election law as they did not say that vote for Y instead of X. They...
02:20 PM, Dec 25, 2011
Kolkata: Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi on Friday ruled out social activist Anna Hazare's demand for right to recall saying this was not practical in a country like India. "We have made it clear that right to recall is not a very practical idea for India. If a representative is elected for five years he will remain for five years in our system," he told reporters at the sidelines of...
11:24 PM, Nov 11, 2011
New Delhi: Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare faced some more opposition as his proposed electoral reforms got a thumbs down from Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi who called them impractical. Speaking exclusively to Karan Thapar, Quraishi said it isn't possible in India. SY Quraishi: Right to recall means about 5 lakh people will have to sign the application to recall, then we will have to verify those signatures, even as we...
07:37 AM, Oct 16, 2011
New Delhi: The Election Commission on Monday dismissed the charge of bias in its actions and made it clear that steps for the conduct of fair and free polls are "not directed against anyone". "It is totally unwarranted. All decisions at the Commission are taken unanimously," Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi said on the charges by some political leaders in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal that the EC was "biased"....
03:44 PM, Apr 11, 2011
Kolkata: Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi on Thursday said that central and other paramilitary forces would not be allowed to camp inside schools where booths would be set up for the upcoming polls in West Bengal. "The central and other paramilitary forces will not be allowed to camp inside schools for days since this will affect the functioning of the educational institutions", Quraishi said at an interactive session at...
11:08 AM, Mar 23, 2011
Puducherry: In a bid to curb malpractices ahead of the April 13 polls in Puducherry, Chief Election Commissioner S Y Qureshi on Tuesday said the number of flying squads in the Union Territory would be increased to 30 from ten. Talking to reporters after meeting political party leaders and officials, Qureshi said some party leaders had mentioned at the meeting that "cash was being given or was going to be...
02:42 PM, Mar 16, 2011
New Delhi: With just a week left for the poll process to begin, the full Election Commission will be travelling to Chennai on Sunday to review the preparations for the April 13 Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu. Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi and other two Election Commissioners V S Sampath and H S Brahma would take stock of the law and order situation and fine tune measures to ensure...
05:31 PM, Mar 12, 2011
