Ballot papers that will be used for voting in the civic body polls scheduled on Saturday are being printed in private printing press flaunting all norms, alleged former Chhattisgarh cabinet minister Rajesh Munat here on Friday.

“Just by calling three quotations, the printing of ballot papers was carried out in normal printing presses. Generally, such printing is done at highly secure government press. But all norms have been waived off in ballot printing by the state government,” Munat alleged.

Former minister Rajest Munat, while terming the shift of polling from EVM to ballot paper a ‘conspiracy’, said when the entire country is using EVM for polling, Chhattisgarh has turned to ballot papers.

He alleged that the casual approach towards printing could be easily understood from that fact that a normal worker of the printing press has been spotted in public, flaunting that ballot papers being printed in the press where he works.

No certification measures have been put into place to ensure that norms are maintained- like quantity of paper being handed over, the waste to be returned, the numbering of paper which is being done manually and maintaining secrecy including destruction of materials.

The BJP had lodged a complaint in this regard with the State Election Commission, Chhattisgarh, he informed.