STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: The Pratibandhi Suraksha Sangstha, Assam (PSSA) has alleged that 95 per cent of the Divyangjans were deprived of the postal ballot facility in the first and second phase of the polls.
"It is a conspiracy by the government to reduce the number of votes from the specially-abled persons. The Divyangjans who can physically visit polling booths will cast their ballot. However, the ones who cannot visit should be given the postal ballot facility," said PSSA secretary Nripen Malakar. He underlined that there are around 9 lakh Divyangjans in the State.
"Out of the total Divyangjan population, only 1,30,000 persons voted in the last polls. In the ongoing polls, we were shocked to see that some Divyangjans who are 100 percent visually impaired were deprived of the postal ballot facility," Malakar stressed.
The PSSA demanded the ECI (Election Commission of India) to take initiatives so that all the specially-abled persons can avail the postal ballot facility in the third phase of the polls.