Bengaluru: After the hue and cry over faulty Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), now the indelible ink used to ink voters' fingers, has kicked up a row with some voters claiming that the ink can be erased with nail polish remover.
This has come as a big surprise for Mysore Paints and Varnish Limited, a government of Karnataka enterprise based in Mysuru, which had been manufacturing the indelible ink since the 1962 general elections. "In the last five decades, we have not received any complaint that the ink manufactured by us can be erased with nail polish remover. This ink will not go off for at least two to three months", Dr C Hara Kumar, general manager (administration), told Deccan Chronicle.
On Monday, when some states went to polls in the third phase of the general elections, a few individuals had posted on social media that the indelible ink could be erased with nail polish remover. This allegation was also aired during the first and second phase of polling. Many had even put up pictures of their fingers claiming that the indelible ink vanished within one hour after rubbing it with nail polish remover.
In fact, a Bengaluru-based architect and a voter of Bangalore North Lok Sabha constituency, had given a complaint in writing to the Assistant Returning Officer suspecting the ink quality. He said that the ink used in previous elections had lasted for a few months but now, it did not last even an hour.
When contacted, Dr Hara Kumar said the indelible ink undegoes a lot of processing before it is despatched. Every batch is thoroughly checked for quality and it is not possible to wipe off the ink with nail polish remover as claimed by voters, he asserted.
Officials from the Election Commission of India do a quality check before using the ink which is certified by a Council of Scientific and Industrial Research(CSIR) laboratory. The neatly packed indelible ink was dispatched to chief electoral officers of all states concerned 30 days before polling and then distributed to the districts. The shelf life of the ink is around six months. "I too have the ink on my finger after voting in the recent Lok Sabha election and it is still there", he said.
Dr Hara Kumar was surprised that the government of Karnataka undertaking has not received any written complaint from any individual regarding the quality of ink. The company will definitely examine the complaints if they receive them "We don't know if something happens at the polling booths,” he added.
