|
People with disability in Karnataka fight to make election count
In a major victory for people
with disabilities, about 50,000 voting machines could be equipped with Braille
and ramps erected at all polling booth for the coming assembly election in
Karnataka.
The state chief electoral
officer, M. N. Vidyashankar, gave this assurance to disability activists who had
gone to meet him on April 9, 2008 under the banner of Karnataka Angavikalara
Rajya Okkoota (KARO), an ActionAid supported initiative.
“It hardly costs Rs. 5 to insert Braille feature on the voting
machine. But it helps a visually challenged person to be independent of others
while making a choice,” N. P.
Ramachandran, district secretary of KARO, was quoted as saying in
a media report.
Mr Vidyashankar promised that
a circular will be issued soon to all officials concerned to ensure that each
polling booth has a ramp and Braille equipped voting machines so that persons
with disabilities can voted in the election from May 10, 2008.
Missing from political agenda
As delegates, including
wheelchair users and people with vision impairment, visited offices of political
parties seeking representation of their demands in the election manifestos, they
met with several barriers.
“Steep stairs at the entrance
inadvertently greeted the delegates and despite being informed in advance no one
was there to hear us,”
said Victor John Cordeiro, programme manager of ActionAid’s Disability Unit.
“Delegates spontaneously
shouted remove stairs and construct ramps and all the others joined in,”
he added.
Often termed as invisible minority, people with disability and
their rights have been neglected by political parties.
Making each vote count
Infuriated by neglect, the
state-level coalition of disability rights group claiming representation of
three million disabled people served an ultimatum to party candidates that they
stand to lose if their manifestos and election speeches do not address these
demands.
The ultimatum lists demands
including implementation of disability act, education for all children with
disability by 2012 and barrier-free access to public spaces.
In 2004, the Supreme Court of
India issued a directive asking the election commission to take measures to
allow persons with disabilities cast their votes. The commission itself has
since sent out many notices to state election bodies to ensure implementation.
“We are going to keep a strict
vigil not only on Braille equipped voting machines, but also on the election
speeches and manifestos,”
said Ramanath, secretary KARO.
Photo credit: ActionAid |
