After Rahul vs Mamata leadership tussle, it is now EVM divide in opposition INDIA bloc | India News
NEW DELHI: After Rahul vs Mamata leadership tussle, EVMs have become the latest flashpoint between INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance)bloc partners. A day after National Conference leader Omar Abdullah openly ridiculed Congress’s stand with his remarks “you can’t accept election results when you win, and blame EVMs when you lose” echoing BJP’s line of attack, it was the turn of Trinamool Congress to sermon the grand old party.
“The people who raise questions on EVM, if they have anything then they should go and show a demo to the Election Commission. If work is done properly at the time of EVM randomisation and the people who work on the booth check during mock polls and counting, then I don’t think there is any substance in this allegation,” Trinamool Congress MP and party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said on Monday.
“If still someone feels that EVMs can be hacked, then they should meet the Election Commission and show how EVMs can be hacked … Nothing can be done by just making random statements,” the TMC MP added.
The Congress reacted sharply to Omar Abdullah’s remarks and reminded the J&K chief minister that it was not alone in questioning the use of EVMs.
Urging Omar Abdullah to “verify facts”, Congress leader Manickam Tagore questioned Omar Abdullah’s swipe, saying, “Why this approach to our partners after being CM?” “It’s the Samajwadi Party, NCP, and Shiv Sena UBT that have spoken against EVMs. Please check your facts,” Tagore said on X . “The Congress CWC resolution clearly addresses the ECI only. Why this approach to our partners after being CM?” he added.
Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav is a vocal critic of EVMs and is on record to state in Parliament that even if his party wins all 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh he will still demand scrapping the use of EVMs.
“I did not trust EVMs yesterday, I don’t trust EVMs today and I will not trust EVMs even if I win all 80 seats in UP. I will use the victory attained by EVMs to remove the EVM. The doubts over the use EVMs has not died and we Samajwadis will not sit quiet till use of EVMs is stopped,” Akhilesh had said in Lok Sabha.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) of Uddhav Thackeray has also been vocal against the use of EVMs. After the party’s humiliating show in the just-concluded Maharashtra assembly elections, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut put a post on his X handle along with a poster, which said, “Jiska EVM, uski democracy”, which means democracy belongs to those who control Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).”
In a dig at the BJP, which along with its partners Shiv Sena and NCP swept the Maha polls, Sanjay Raut had said the ruling Mahayuti should take out a procession of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and take the decision to construct an EVM temple.
“During the first cabinet meeting, they should announce the construction of an EVM temple in front of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters in Nagpur,” Raut had said last week.
Maharashtra NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) chief Jayant Patil had also raised concerns about the use of EVMs in the Maharashtra assembly elections, questioning the rise in voting numbers after 5 pm.
“Even though our numbers are less, we will continue to raise questions. In the recent elections, voting increased in Maharashtra after 5 pm. This is a matter of concern. While the EVM is a simple calculator, it increases the vote count automatically at night. This is a critical issue that must be addressed. The Election Commission of India appears to be hiding something,” Patil had said.
Demanding the return of ballot papers, he had stated, “Ballot papers must replace EVMs because it will also restore people’s trust in the system. The voting percentage will decline if people do not trust the system.”
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra is still protesting against the use of EVMs. On Monday, members staged a demonstration on the steps of the Maharashtra Vidhan Bhawan in Nagpur and raised slogans against the use of EVMs in elections.
I say this with full responsibility, EVM cannot be hacked. EVM cannot be tampered with. There is a simple reason for this. First, it is a standalone machine … no connection with any network or outer gadget. So, hacking or tampering is not possible. Second, the chip used in it is one-time programmable, so there cannot be any reprogramming
Maharashtra additional chief electoral officer Kiran Kulkarni
Leader of opposition in the state legislative council Ambadas Danve led the demonstration of the MVA leaders, who called for “saving” the Constitution and democracy and opposed the use of EVMs. They raised slogans like “EVM Hatao Desh Bachao”, “EVM Hatao Constitution Bachao” and “EVM Hatao Democracy Bachao”.
The Congress, which faced humiliating defeats in Haryana and Maharashtra, is at the forefront of the campaign against the use of EVMs.
A Congress leader has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking verification of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) used during Haryana assembly polls. Karan Singh Dalal, a former 5-time MLA, in the plea sought directions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to lay down a memorandum for the checking and verification of the original burnt memory/microcontroller of the four components of the EVM (Control Unit, Ballot Unit, VVPAT and Symbol Loading Unit).
The Centre has cited the Election Commission remarks to reject all opposition charges on EVM tampering. “Nearly 42 petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court and various high courts questioning the electronic voting machines (EVMs), with the higher judiciary repeatedly holding that the machines are credible, reliable and tamper-proof,” the government said citing the EC in Lok Sabha recently.
The divide over EVM comes days after the partners of INDIA bloc were openly engaged in a leadership tussle with Mamata Banerjee slamming the Congress over its electoral failures and staking claim to lead the opposition front. She was supported by leaders like Sharad Pawar and Lalu Prasad who backed Mamata’s claim. The Congress is definitely not alone within the INDIA bloc in questioning the use of EVMs, but the grand old party has been singled out by some of its regional allies highlighting the power tussle within the opposition coalition.
