Increasingly opposition amping up rhetoric on EVM
The Aam Aadmi Party Wednesday accused the Election Commission of working with the BJP to "tamper" EVMs to get the results of the Lok Sabha polls in its favour.
Leaders of 22 opposition parties had met the Election Commission on Tuesday and demanded verification of VVPAT slips of randomly-selected polling stations before the counting of votes begins Thursday. The EC on Wednesday rejected the demand.
"First counting would be done to decide who won the election and after that VVPAT random check would be done," AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj said.hit out at the EC's decision, saying it is purposely creating such an atmosphere that "riots are ensured in the country".
"The BJP with the EC is tampering the EVM machines. They are saying the results would be delayed because of it, when we waited for so long for result what change would some more time make," he told reporters.
This comes on a day when EC has snubbed the opposition's demands regarding EVM.
The Election Commission on Wednesday rejected the demand of opposition parties which sought tallying of VVPAT slips for an entire assembly segment if even one of the five samples does not match with votes polled in EVMs.
The current provisions say five randomly-selected EVMs will be verified in each assembly segment with the VVPAT slips
The decision comes a day after leaders of 22 opposition parties, led by TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, met EC officials and alleged discrepancies in EVM machines. They also demanded that the EVM-VVPAT tally should be done at the beginning of the process of counting.
The delegation also included the leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who handed over a memorandum to the Commission enlisting their demands.
"If any discrepancy is found in the tally, then VVPAT for the whole assembly segment should be counted. We do not know what is the problem of the Election Commission? Former Chief Election Commissioner has also endorsed our demand. Former President (Pranab Mukherjee) also made it very clear that EC should keep transparency and create confidence among Indian voters," Naidu had said after the meeting on Tuesday.
1. Grim prediction from AAP's chief spokesperson
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Saurabh Bharadwaj posted on Twitter:
Decision of @ECISVEEP will lead to disaster, its a recipe for mass riots. It can lead to Civil War.
— Saurabh Bharadwaj (@Saurabh_MLAgk) May 22, 2019
If u first let political parties know the Winner & Loser, then will Winner allow elections to be set aside after VVPAT mismatch ?
Save this Country.
Stay tuned PC at 4:00 PM
According to Bharadwaj, once the results from EVM is known, VVPAT counting in effect is redundant.
2. Shehla Rashid wants opposition to go to UN
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Former JNU student leader Shehla Rashid who is now part of Jammu and Kashmir People's Movement party formed by ex- IAS officer Shah Faesal on counting day eve posted a tweet thread about EVMs.
Expressing frustration about how the opposition is not taking the matter up seriously, Rashid suggested several alternatives and extreme steps to truly bring the EVM issue to the forefront.
According to Rashid, opposition parties if necessary should boycott polls and she even went on to say that UN and other international bodies can be invoked. So essentially, Rashid advocated for foreign intervention in India's internal politics.
Her full post:
As a member of the opposition, I feel that we lack clarity on what we are fighting against. If we are alleging EVM fraud, then all of us should boycott elections till EVMs are abolished. If we're agitated about movement of EVMs near strongrooms, then we should demand repoll.
Lack of seriousness about our own allegations will harm the cause. When we say EVM fraud, we feel relatively helpless. If we are talking about replacement of EVMs, then what we are alleging is rigging. This calls for a demand to hold fresh polls, and we should be serious about it.
I see only BJP demanding fresh polls in Bengal where they allege booth capturing, etc. Why hasn't the opposition demanded fresh polls where alleged rigging has occurred? There's a difference between MCC violation, EVM fraud, and rigging. Each calls for different measures.
It's our institutions at stake. Appeal to all big opposition leaders to take this seriously, call for joint meetings and take a decision. This is about the democratic process! Our protest can't be outcome based.
Whether these leaders are in govt at the centre or not, they represent us. They represent a huge part of the democratic mandate. It's sad to see that our national leaders aren't taking themselves as seriously as they should. Why don't we invoke UN and other int'l bodies?
I'm sorry, but EVM rigging can't be part of election rhetoric merely. This is not an election issue. It's an existential issue that is threatening the health of our democracy. Opposition leaders need to take united decisions and FIGHT this out, if we believe our own words.
Haven't said this till now, but the EVM rigging conference in London was a joke, and it sabotaged the genuine concerns regarding EVMs. Yes, EVMs can be hacked, but what are your workers doing? Where are your experts? Why not take @ECISVEEP collectively to courts and int'l media?
Unfortunately, political parties within themselves do not have a clear stance on EVMs. They haven't called any internal party meetings to arrive at one position regarding EVMs. Ask them in private and they'll say something different. I'm sorry, but democracy is non-negotiable.
Also, these episodes show the need to work on ground, at local and regional levels, have a strong cadre that is vigilant and aware. Realised this long back, hence the move from national stage to regional politics. We need to leave Delhi & strengthen our parties at regional levels.
Even if we really have lost, not all is lost. There's still the obligation upon us to fight for our political and democratic rights.
3. Singhvi slams EVM
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The Congress Wednesday dubbed the Election Commission as "Enfeebled Commission" after the poll body was learnt to have rejected the opposition parties' demand for pre-verification of VVPATs with EVMs while counting and said it was a "black day" for democracy.
Party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi asked on what basis the commission had arrived at the decision as the Supreme Court ruling on VVPAT counting did not come under Rule 56-D as cited by it.
He also questioned whether the EVMs were "electronic victory machines" for the BJP and the Model Code of Conduct was "Modi's Campaign Code", alleging that the poll body had succumbed to the pressure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah.
4. Shah mocks opposition over EVM row
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BJP president Amit Shah Wednesday accused the Opposition of "disrespecting" people's mandate by raising doubts on electronic voting machines and said it is "tarnishing" Indian democracy as it is rattled by its "likely defeat" in Lok Sabha elections.
Slamming opposition parties, he said in tweets that they started protesting against EVMs only after sixth phase of polling and intensified it after exit polls, which have predicted a comfortable victory for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance."How can you question EVMs credibility on the basis of exit polls," he asked.
He also termed as unconstitutional the demand of 22 opposition parties that the Election Commission change its counting protocol and count five random VVPATs first, saying any decision in this regard is not possible without an all-party consensus. The EC has rejected the Opposition's demand. Counting of votes will take place on Thursday.
Referring to statements of some Opposition leaders like Upendra Kushwaha that people can take up arms and resort to violence, he said such comments have no place in democracy and asked who is challenging democracy.
The Opposition in Bihar on Tuesday had alleged that attempts were being made to manipulate Lok Sabha poll results in favour of the ruling NDA, and warned that "blood may spill on the streets".
"Opposition to EVM amounts to disrespecting people's mandate. Rattled by their probable defeat, these 22 parties are tarnishing the country and its democracy in the world by raising questions on the democratic process. Their demands have no rationale and are driven by selfish interests," Shah said, adding that he wanted to ask them some questions.Most of these opposition parties, such as the Congress, SP, BSM, Trinamool Congress, NCP, AAP, Telugu Desam Party, the Left and RJD among others, have won elections held through EVMs at some point of time, he said.
"Should it be presumed that when the opposition wins, then it emerges victorious in elections but when it loses it does so due to EVMs? If they do not trust EVMs, then why did they form government?," Shah asked.
