Srinagar, July 19: In violation of court directions and provisions of Central Council of Indian System of Medicine (CCIM) Act the state government has held the election for two members of CCIM inviting dead medicos to vote.
 As per the provisions of the CCIM Act, the updating of ISM register is mandatory before two members are elected from the Unani and Ayurvedic streams of ISM medicine to CCIM.
 “The officials have mocked the election. As per the CCIM Act, it was mandatory for the Returning Officer to send a prior notice to Registrar Board of Unani and Ayurvedic Medicine Jammu and Kashmir to update the register of medicos and registered practitioners before the polling”, said an official privy to the election process.
 “Besides it, Jammu and Kashmir High Court in a case had directed the Government to update the ISM Register before holding the election”, he added.
 Pertinently, like other states, JK elects two members for a 5-year term, one from each Unani and Ayurvedic streams of medicine to represent the state in CCIM, a statutory body under UGC monitoring higher education in ISM and encircled by Central Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the act reveals.  
 While one member for the Council from Ayurvedic branch was already elected unopposed, for the other seat from Unani medicine, eight candidates including an officer of director rank  are in fray and have been voted through registered post.
 Informed sources revealed to Greater Kashmir that after the Central government sanctioned Rs 5 lakhs for the election purpose, the state government appointed returning officer of deputy secretary rank as Returning Officer to carry out the postal polling.
 They said around 1663 ISM doctors including dead from Unani stream in the state have been dispatched ballot papers through post and they have voted for the candidates in fray.
 “Apart from the medicos, around 577 Registered Medical Practitioners including a pretty number of dead have been dispatched the ballot papers through post and they too voted for the members,” the sources said, adding the families of dead medicos also cast the votes.
 While from Baramulla district, sources identified Muhammad Ahsan Hakeem,  Ziaudin, Qazi Muhammad Ghasudin, Hakeem Ghulam Rasool, Ghulam Hassan Qazi among the dead RMPS and whose votes have been polled; from Kupwara, Makhan Lal, Amar Chand, and Ghidari Lal were found the dead RMPS, whose families received the ballet papers.
 Like north Kashmir, in central and south Kashmir the dead medicos and RMPS received the ballot papers to vote.
 When contacted Registrar Board of Ayurvedic and Unani Medicine, Dr Krishan Sharma, said, “There was a petition in which some medicos were identified as dead and we deleted the names.”
 Asked how then the families of dead medicos received the ballot papers, he said it
 cannot be ruled out the ISM register was not updated as there was a Supreme Court ruling to complete the election before July 28. 
 When contacted Farooq Ahmad Dar, Returning Officer CCIM said, “I have printed electoral roll based on the register maintained by the Registrar Board of Auervedic and Unani System of Medicine.”

Lastupdate on : Tue, 19 Jul 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 19 Jul 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 20 Jul 2011 00:00:00 IST