16 May, 2004; NOW! 1 THUKCHUK ACCEPTS MORAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR CONGRESS DEBACLE, TURN TO pg 5 DECIDES TO RESIGN, BHANDARI REMAINS UNIMPRESSED FOR DETAILS HOME Bharat Sanchar SBILOANS Sunday, 16 May, 2004 Vol. 3 No. 46 Gangtok Rs. 3 Nigam Ltd. CONSIDERING Cell ne TO BUY A FLAT Connecting India IN SILIGURI? TALK MORE, PAY LESS Free Call Charges in Plan 399 Consider Lowest SMS rate @ 40 paise buying it on an CDMA Mobile at lowest rate Lowest Rate in Leased Line, SBI loan from ISDN, STD/ ISD Gangtok! Free unlimited talk to any 3 numbers by paying just Rs. 75 contact Kumar Gajmer at SBI, Bulk SMS, Bulk Mail Gangtok branch, or call 221165 Video Conferencing, Web-Hosting Shocked Bhandari wonders whether SDF sweep came from the people or EVMs have been examined by experts ther verify that the machine has RANJIT SINGH BHANDARI DOUBTS from technical institutes, their ma- been properly sealed, a Form 17 is GANGTOK, 15 May: The SPCC nipulation can only be imagined. signed by the presiding officer and [I] president Nar Bahadur Bhandari DEPENDABILITY No one has been able to do so yet,” polling agents of various parties at expressed shock at the landslide OF EVMS, the CEO said. the polling stations itself. Further victory of the SDF party and won- CHIEF ELECTION The DC East, K. Srinivas, while information reveals that each EVM dered whether the victory was speaking to NOW! on the matter has a unique serial number which given by the people of Sikkim or OFFICER SAYS revealed that the EVMs had been is made available to polling agents the electronic voting machines. MANIPULATION brought from Manipur. On the sug- and is verified at the time of count- “This is not our defeat. I can’t CAN ONLY BE gestion that data could have been ing to establish that the correct say what happened. There were no tampered while in storage, he re- EVMs are being used for counting. incidents of false voting or rigging “IMAGINED” vealed the names of the Congress Also, the seals for the EVMs but the SDF still won,” Mr. party officials in whose presence which are provided by the election Bhandari said expressing surprise the EVMs were sealed and put in commission have only one manu- at the victory of the SDF party at the strong room in the TNA audi- facturer. This, along with the fact the just concluded polls. torium on 11 May at 1:40 AM. that each seal has the signatures of His shock apart, Mr. Bhandari “We have the signatures of the polling agents nullifies the pos- also raised some questions on the Phuchung Bhutia [INC], Kunga sibility of duplicating them. veracity of results polled by the Nima Lepcha [INC], ST Bhutia Furthermore, the parties in the EVMs and made a submission of [INC] and N Pradhan [SDF] who fray have the right to keep a 24hr Bhandari addresses the Press at Congress Bhavan on 15 May, 2004 the same to the Chief Electoral Of- have witnessed the sealing and stor- vigil on the storerooms in which the ficer, TT Dorjee. The party has in- stored properly and guarded against all been sealed and only after a pe- ing of the EVMs in the strong room. EVMs are stored till counting date. quired on the number of EVMs sent tampering. riod of 6 months to 1 year will we Their signatures are also affixed on This is clearly mentioned in the by the election commission to Speaking to NOW!, the CEO, erase the data in them after permis- the sealing lock and the seal was election manual made available to Sikkim along with the number used Mr. Dorjee, while confirming that sion from the election commission.” opened in their collective presence every candidate. and those kept in reserve per con- he had received such a letter from Further clarifying on the EVMs on the day of the counting,” Mr. Election officials have stituency. They have also ques- the SPCC [I] said, “We have around he said that it was very difficult to Srinivas clarified. “Therefore there rubbished the suggestion that EVMs tioned whether the EVMs were 1,200 EVMs and the ones used have manipulate an EVM, “The EVMs is no question of any tampering of could be tampered in any way, but the machines,” he said. the SPCC [I] is not convinced. In Further information procured fact, claiming that it has received THESE DON’T LOOK LIKE EVMs from election officials reveal that several complaints on the EVMs, it once the machine is “closed” it does has even set up a committee to probe Victory celebrations not record any more votes. To fur- turn to pg 5 are going on in full swing in all territorial constituencies of Sikkim [Cong bagged HONGHONG KONGKONG only the Sangha which is voted by an electoral college] to BAZAAR mark the SDF sweep in the polls. That Any Item Rs. 90 to Rs. 150 apart, thousands FIRST lined up outside the Gift Items, Crockery & Other TIME IN CM’s official SIKKIM residence, Attractive Goods! Mintokgang [left] to offer Khadas to Mr. Chamling. HOTEL BAYUL, MG MARG, GANGTOK CMYK 2; NOW!; 16 May, 2004 ED-SPACE Retreat on rules for wartime NOW! dishonors core U.S. values FIRST WITH THE NEWS ttempts to set rules for con Here We Go Again ducting war have been made for centuries, dating The Cong [I] leaders in Sikkim would have us believe that the A back at least to Chinese warrior Sun mandate that gave the SDF 31 of the 32 constituencies was deliv- Tzu in the sixth century B.C. In ered by the EVMs and not the voters. The same leaders also troop to the Governor with the request to evoke powers enshrined in 1865, a Confederate officer was him by Article 371F [!] to check post-poll violence in the State. executed for murdering Union pris- They have instituted an enquiry committee to dig out the moles in oners of war, and others were pun- the SPCC [I] who sabotaged Congress’ chances at the polls. ished. The Geneva Conventions, It is obvious that the message delivered by the people has com- written in fits and starts during the pletely escaped Congress leaders in the State. In fact, it is this very past 150 years, are the most con- communication gap that contributed to its drubbing in the recent polls. certed effort to ban war atrocities Of course, the Congress candidates expected to win. It is obviously At their heart are four interna- the people who did not want them to. And by continuing to find ex- tional accords, signed in 1949 af- cuses everywhere else except in their own failures is only suggestive ter the horrors of World War II. of what awaits them in five years time. 32-0. People are genuinely They list the rights of prisoners of not interested in individual political futures, they care for the collec- war and captured civilians, and tive future of the State. The present Congress leadership in the State ban degrading or humiliating treat- conveniently forgot the people throughout the last term and rather ment. Two protocols in 1977 ex- naively expected anti-incumbency to do the job for them. Two months tended the rules to civil wars. The charge of the Iraqi prison. of sloganeering is just not enough to win the people’s trust for the international Red Cross is respon- Some Pentagon critics say next five years. When you fail as the Opposition, you don’t deserve elsewhere sible for policing them. Rumsfeld set the tone for abusing the government. The Congress wave in the rest of the country has as In setting limits that can prevent IRAQ / USA much to do with the hollowness of the India Shining slogan as it is a prisoners in 2002, when he said result of Sonia Gandhi proving to the people in the past years that the barbarism that has been a hall- U.S. and throughout the world. some Taliban and al-Qaeda mem- she could lead the Opposition bench well. mark of wars throughout history, the Clearly, the sexual humiliation bers captured in Afghanistan were One would have expected the Congress leaders to have un- Geneva Conventions reaffirm a bed- and other abuses by U.S. military not covered by the Geneva Conven- derstood what the people said through the ballot. At a time when it rock American principle: respect for personnel violated the Geneva Con- tions - though the U.S. would treat should be setting its house in order, it is continuing with its confus- basic human rights. That’s why ventions. Whether the mistreatment them as if they were. ing tactics. To credit the SDF sweep to rigged EVMs does not only honoring the conventions also was an isolated incident by a few Whatever prompted the appall- question a policy which has been endorsed and tested all over the honors values that define this nation. soldiers or part of a broader mili- ing behavior in Iraq, putting the country, but also the intelligence of the people. The election manual In the past week, Defense Secre- tary policy is the focus of several conventions back front and center made available to every candidate explains clearly that candidates tary Donald Rumsfeld and other top investigations. is a priority now. Army Maj. Gen. can arrange for a 24hr vigilance over the strongrooms in which U.S. military officials have made a But one conclusion already be- Antonio Taguba, who investigated the EVMs are stored. The Congress has always been alluding belated promise to follow those rules.