E-Paper
Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Snags in EVMs criminal negligence, says Akhilesh Yadav
Talking to reporters after casting his vote in Saifai (Etawah), Yadav said the EC should take cognisance of reports of malfunctioning of EVMs in Rampur and Badaun.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday alleged that EVMs were malfunctioning or voting for the BJP across the country and termed it a criminal negligence.
“EVMs across India malfunctioning or voting for the BJP. DMs say poll officials untrained to operate EVMs. 350+ being replaced. This is criminal negligence for a polling exercise that costs ₹50,000 crore. Should we believe DMs @ECISVEEP, or is something far more sinister afoot?” Yadav tweeted, tagging the Election Commission.
Talking to reporters after casting his vote in Saifai (Etawah), Yadav said the EC should take cognisance of reports of malfunctioning of EVMs in Rampur and Badaun.
“I have come to know that a state minister is trying to influence polling in Badaun, where his daughter is contesting. Officers are saying that EVMs are not running properly due to lack of proper training of officials. Is this the digital India being promised by the government?” he asked.
On Mainpuri seat, he said, “Netaji (SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav) will win by a record margin.”
About Firozabad, where his uncle and president of Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia (PSPL) Shivpal Yadav is in the fray against SP’s Akshay Yadav, he said Akshay was winning comfortably.
Meanwhile, a delegation of Samajwadi Party, led by party leader Rajendra Chowdhury, met state’s chief electoral officer (CEO) L Venkateshwar Lu to complain against alleged anomalies in polling in UP.
After meeting the CEO, Chaudhary said, “We met him (the CEO) and gave him a written complaint informing him about wide-scale frauds that took place in all 10 Lok Sabha seats where elections were held.”
Additional chief electoral officer BR Tiwari said an SP delegation had lodged complaints that UP cabinet minister Swami Prasad Maurya was trying to influence voters in favour of his daughter Sanghmitra Maurya, the BJP candidate in Badaun.
He said the SP delegation also alleged that EVMs were not functioning in Rampur and the police was not cooperating with voters.
(With agencies inputs)
