For the poll bound Uttar Pradesh, Election Commission is concerned over the directive of the Centre for the use of indelible ink by the banks and the post offices to mark the finger of the bank customers for the exchange the old currency notes. The poll panel wants to ensure that only the right hands finger is used by the banks and post offices for marking their customers. The left hand is used during the polling to mark the finger of the voters. EC sources said here that the use of right hand finger during the polling is allowed only in case of no fingers in left hand of the voter. If the banks do the same then it may create problem for the voters during the ensuing state assembly elections. Though the Election commission has not banned the use of indelible ink by the banks or any other financial institutions, the poll panel has asked the Centre and the state governments to be cautious over the use of the ink on the finger of the people where there is by-polls or the assembly elections are due to be held in near future.
The Election Commission sources in lucknow said that as per the provisions of rule 49K of the conduct of election rules 1961, the left forefinger of electors is required to be marked with indelible ink at the polling stations before the elector is allowed to vote. The rule further says that in case where the elector does not have forefinger on the left hand, the ink is to be marked on any finger on his left hand and in case of no finger on the left hand of the voter; the ink is to be marked on the right forefinger.
The ECI directives further say that ``in view of the current by-election and upcoming general elections to legislative assemblies in some of the state, it is requested that the mentioned provisions of rules regarding application of indelible ink at elections and the commission’s instructions in this regard should be duly taken into consideration in the context of the reported move to apply indelible ink in connection with demonetization process so that the same does not affect the election process in any manner’’.
The official’s sources said that there is no communication from the government or the EC to ban the use of indelible ink, they have communicated to the state government to inform the banks to put the indelible ink only in the right hand finger of the customer getting the currencies exchanged.
``So far we have learnt that the banks were putting the ink on the right hand finger of the person coming to banks for the exchange of the currency notes’’, said an official.
Meanwhile in a major relief to the overworked staff of the banks the crowd in the banks have subsided by at least by 50 per cent in most of the banks in the lucknow. Bank officials said that the fall in number of the customers was due to use of indelible ink for the people exchanging old currencies and the sudden decision of the government to lower the amount of exchange from Rs 4500 per day to Rs 2000 from Friday.