Election Commission tells government not to use indelible ink in banks

To control the long queues and resulting frenzy in banks caused by prime minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation announcement last week, India resorted to a tactic it uses to avoid fraudulent voting during elections. The government had asked banks to put indelible ink marks on the fingers of those exchanging the now-banned Rs500 and Rs1,000 currency notes, two days back.

“You find the same people coming back again and again,” India’s secretary for economic affairs, Shaktikanta Das, reportedly said during a media briefing on Nov. 15. The long queues caused by this were making it difficult for “honest people” to get cash, Das said.

Shaktikanta Das has by now become a familiar face for all of us as who watch news channels, as the government’s frequently contradictory announcements and flip-flops are conveyed by him.

Criticizing the use of indelible ink in banks Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee had said that this black mechanism shows that the government distrusts the common people.

The new policy of inking has also raised concerns at the Election Commission (EC) of India, which oversees all poll processes in the country. It has requested a reconsideration of the plan as five states have elections scheduled on Nov. 19 for a few local constituencies, the Press Trust of India reported. In a letter, EC told the government that if people are marked by banks, it will confuse the polling officers.

Some media reports suggest that the government has addressed this concern by directing banks to apply the ink marks on the fingers of people’s right hands, while the one for voting will be on those of the left. Meanwhile the ink is being used in State bank of India branches.

Reports also suggest that the Election Commission(EC) issued a letter to district magistrates across the U.P state instructing them not to issue the indelible ink stocked at the district headquarters to banks until further instructions from the Election Commission.

Confusion seems to be the order of the day.