AAP, BJP spar over ‘EVM manipulation’

AAP, in a statement, said that CM Rekha Gupta’s statement sparked widespread speculation that the BJP had committed vote theft in the Delhi elections.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday sparred over the issue of electronic voting machines and elections. While the former flagged a video clip of chief minister Rekha Gupta, the BJP said the opposition was using an “edited part of a TV interview” for political mileage.

AAP chief and former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday posted a 14 second interview clip of CM Rekha Gupta with a caption “What is the CM of Delhi saying”.

AAP chief and former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday posted a 14 second interview clip of Gupta with a caption “What is the CM of Delhi saying”. In the purported clip, the chief minister, while responding to the allegation of election and EVM manipulation, is heard saying in Hindi: “For the last 70 years, when they were hacking the EVM, nothing was taking place, but when we do it, they are feeling bad).

The same clip was reposted by other AAP leaders.

AAP, in a statement, said that the CM’s statement sparked widespread speculation that the BJP had committed vote theft in the Delhi elections. “During a TV interview, CM Rekha Gupta has said that Congress had been hacking EVMs for 70 years, but why did it feel bad about the BJP doing it? Her statement has created a stir in Delhi politics,” the AAP said.

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said it was shocking to see former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal posting an edited part of Delhi CM Rekha Gupta’s TV interview to raise political controversy. “...moment we see the full video of the TV interview, it becomes clear that CM Gupta has actually said that it’s surprising that when for 60/ 70 years Congress & others were winning everything was fine but now if BJP is winning, the opposition alleges rigging,” he said in a statement.

Sachdeva said, “Kejriwal’s problem is that seven months of Rekha Gupta government’s development performance has outshone his 10 years of governance and so, Kejriwal keeps trying to create political controversies to malign CM’s image.”