§ 3. Mr. GALLACHERasked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he can give the House information regarding the preparations now being made with a view to the provincial elections to be held in India and Burma under the Government of India Act; whether, seeing that no voter will be placed on the electoral roll by virtue of the educational qualification, except upon personal application accompanied by examination certificates, he will arrange for the educational lists to be consulted by the authorities concerned; whether the polling stations will be so located that electors do not have to travel many miles to vote; and what will be the maximum distance that electors will have to travel at the forthcoming elections?
§ Mr. BUTLERThe provincial Governments in most, if not all, Provinces have already published rules in regard to the preparation of the electoral rolls. For the educational qualification the voter is required to produce documentary evidence, but not necessarily the original certificates. If the hon. Member's suggestion is that the voter should be relieved by the authorities of the responsibility of producing evidence of his qualifications, I am afraid that this would not be practicable. As regards the last two parts of the question, I am confident that the authorities will provide as many polling stations and as near to the residences of the voters as considerations of the available staff for controlling them permit; but I am unable to say what will be the greatest distance in any part of India that any elector will have to traverse to record his vote.
§ Mr. GALLACHERIs it not much more desirable to place the onus on the authorities of disproving the qualifications of applicants for the right to vote; and will the hon. Gentleman not try to get information as to the maximum distance that any elector has to travel to vote—a matter the importance of which he will understand?
§ Mr. BUTLERWith regard to the first part of the supplementary question, the House considered this matter when it had before it the original Government of India Bill, and it was found to be impossible to place upon the authorities the onus of searching records, which might 1064 be very old, with respect to qualifications which could not be traced. With regard to the distance which it is necessary to travel to polling stations, I think that, if the hon. Member refers to paragraph 26 of the Lothian Report, he will see some sort of idea given of the distances which people may have to travel.
§ 4. Mr. GALLACHERasked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether his attention has been drawn to the admitted two acts of official interference in a recent municipal election; and what steps are proposed to guard against official interference with the course of the elections to be held in Burma and in India under the Government of India Act, 1935?
§ Mr. BUTLERI am not aware of the incidents to which the hon. Member alludes, but I am confident that the Orders in Council recently approved by this House and the rules made in pursuance of them afford no scope for official action in the elections to the Legislatures in India and Burma other than what is necessary for their proper and orderly conduct.
§ Mr. GALLACHERHas the hon. Gentleman any information as to interference of this character; and will he take the matter up?
§ Mr. BUTLERIf the hon. Member can give me information I will look into it, but I do not think it would be wise to mix up municipal elections with the other elections.