IT units assure CEO to facilitate voting by their staff

Hyderabad: The chief executive officers and leaders of IT industry in Hyderabad and elsewhere in Telangana have given out a firm assurance to Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Dr Rajat Kumar that they will facilitate their staff to fulfil their citizen responsibility of voting on the polling day, December 7.

The CEO spoke with them for an hour at an interactive session arranged by the Society for Cyberabad Security Council (SCSC), at the Cyberabad Police Commissionerate at Gachibowli here on Thursday. The CEO gave a clarion call to them saying “You have to be agents of change” and which was readily welcomed by the IT heads.

Dr Rajat Kumar, who handled questions from them after making a speech on the tamper-proof features of EVMs and VVPATs, said, these machines were randomized at every level and manufactured with international standards by BEL and ECIL. A public holiday was declared for government offices, and its institutions, including educational institutions, for the polling day. “The Country and democracy are first”, he emphasised, as the IT executives and leaders expressed hesitation to observe holiday throughout the day on December 7.

There was no point in saying “we have a horrible system, compared to the US, Japan, Singapore etc, while ignoring our responsibility to vote. We get the Government we deserve if we fail to vote. No exemption from holiday unless out of defence considerations”, Dr Rajat Kumar said. Mr R. Chandrasekhar, Joint Commissioner, Labour, who was present, said paid holiday would be observed even in IT sector.

The IT industry top brass, including Bharani Kumar Aroll, CEO of Infopeers and secretary, SCSC, pleaded with Dr Kumar that they were to run “critical business operations” even on holidays and, therefore, they would give a half day holiday or permission for voting by their staff. Their commitment to the country was such that they would press into service vehicles to take them to the booths and bring them back. They said they were to follow the timings of the US, Australia etc, to meet the needs of their clients. But all of them raised their hands expressing solidarity with CEO.

The CEO said, “most progressive thinking people are in your industry and the country advances fast if you also become a partners of the system”. Replying to questions, he said he could not insist on promises in the manifestoes of political parties favourable to IT industries, as they were to cater all sections of people. He said, booths could not be located in IT companies, saying a polling station concerned was hardly 500 metres from one’s house.

The EVM in India was a wonder machine, whose every aspect was kept within a legal framework. Besides umpteen tests done at the level of manufacturers, several protocols were rigidly followed to move the machine even from one point to another.

Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, IT, V. C. Sajjanar, Commissioner, Cyberabad, Mahesh Bhagwat, Commissioner, Rachakonda, urged the IT units to encourage their staff to vote. Mr Mahesh Bhagawat referred to a candidate who won the elections by mere 45 votes last time, and felt the 24,000-strong staff in the IT units at Madhapur conglomerate, could make a sea of difference by voting. D. Hari Chandana, Commissioner, Central Zone, GHMC, said the educated were acting as uneducated by not exercising their franchise. Lokesh Kumar, Collector, Ranga Reddy district, said all the staff in the software sector were in Serilingampallii constituency and asked the IT managements to allow at least some time to their employees to facilitate them to vote.