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TMC raises pitch against possible EVM rigging in upcoming Bengal polls
With just a week to go before the West Bengal assembly polls take off, the state’s ruling Trinamool Congress has raised its pitch against possible rigging of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs)
With just a week to go before the West Bengal assembly polls take off, the state’s ruling Trinamool Congress has raised its pitch against possible rigging of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
While chief minister Mamata Banerjee issued an impromptu three-point checklist for her party workers to follow to prevent rigging of EVMs, a TMC parliamentary delegation submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission of India with a demand to tally VVPAT machines with EVMs.
A BJP team too submitted a memorandum to the poll body in Delhi urging action against Banerjee for allegedly spreading propaganda against the BJP and the ECI.
“On the polling day, even if they (polling officers) tell you that the EVM has malfunctioned, don’t go back home. Secondly, before the actual poll starts, they would press the buttons 30 times (mock poll) to show that everything is fine with the EVM. Then they would restart the EVM. But you insist that the EVM should be switched on and off at least twice before the actual poll starts. Thirdly, guard the EVMs (in the safe rooms) even after the polls. Don’t accept any food as it could be laced. If the security officials or police ask you to go away, don’t leave. It is your job to protect the EVM after the polls,” said Banerjee.
Banerjee addressed three public rallies in three constituencies – Egra, Patashpur and Tamluk - in East Midnapore district. She repeated the same in all the rallies.
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While the eight-phase elections would kick start from March 27, counting would be held on May 2.
The BJP took a jibe at Banerjee saying that the ECI had earlier thrown a challenge for political parties to tamper EVMs but nobody succeeded.
“The chief minister raising the EVM issue and urging workers to guard the EVMs can mean only two things. Either she is apprehending that her workers are lacking the morale and enthusiasm to see it to the end and that’s why she is repeatedly asking them to guard EVMs till the last or she is suffering from fear of defeat. Their tenure has reached the fag end. The politically aware citizens of Bengal will not take such theories of the chief minister,” said Samik Bhattacharya, BJP spokesperson.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who addressed a rally in Bengal’s Purulia district on Thursday, tweeted on Friday, “BJP winning in West Bengal would mark the start of a new era of development in the state. At the same time, bullying by TMC cadres will stop.”
Modi is scheduled to address another rally at Kharagpur in West Midnapore on Saturday.
The TMC hit back saying the BJP was trying to hide its infighting with irrelevant tweets.
“The tweet is irrelevant at this point because the Prime Minister is coming to West Bengal almost every day. Actually, the BJP knows that it is going to be defeated. It is just trying to hide the infighting which has cropped up within the party after the announcement of candidates and hence such tweets are being uploaded to create hype and divert attention,” said Kunal Ghosh, TMC spokesperson.
