Cong allege EVM tampering, MP Election Commission rejects charge

Dec 1 (AZINS) A controversy broke out in Madhya Pradesh after a reported delay in EVMs reaching the collection centre in Sagar on Friday, 48 hours after voting ended in the state elections.

The Congress has alleged before being brought to the collection centre, the EVMs were taken to a hotel owned by BJP’s Bhupendra Singh.

The Madhya Pradesh Congress tweeted: “In Madhya Pradesh home minister's area, EVMs were deposited using a bus without a registration plate, 48 hours after polling. Is this a conspiracy by the government to ensure a BJP win?”Meanwhile, the Chief Electoral Commissioner of Madhya Pradesh rejected the charge and said that the EVMs were kept as ‘reserve’.

They wrote on Twitter: “These are EVMs kept as 'Reserve' stationed at some Police stations, to be used as replacement for malfunctioning machines during Poll. Such machines were to be stored separately from polled EVMs. Strong room having Polled EVMs was neither opened nor was supposed to be opened. Every EVM has a unique number code for it. The numbers of EVM used in polling have been shared with all political parties. The numbers of reserved EVM's have been checked by political parties in sagar districts. Their numbers are different.”

Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha MP and Congress treasurer Ahmed Patel shared a video and claimed: “Sensing a defeat in Madhya Pradesh & Chattisgarh, some are indulging in desperate measures by attempting to tamper with EVM’s in strong rooms Urge the EC to investigate & take concrete action”.

Another video from Patel showed EVMs being transported by car.

Congress MP leader and Member of Parliament Jyotriaditya Scindia wrote: “I have written a letter to the @CEOMPElections requesting information on the malfunctioning EVMs and VVPAT machines. I hope all measures are being taken to ensure that these machines cannot be tampered with.”

To this the state election commissioner replied: “Chief Electoral Office again reaffirms that all EVMs are temperproof. All EVMs are safely secured and sealed in strong rooms. More importantly they are under joint surveillance of police force and political parties.”

Another Congress leader PL Punia on Saturday met the Election Commission in Delhi and urged to ensure a secured counting process and firm security measures for EVMs in Chhattisgarh.

Punia said that some unidentified persons with laptops and mobiles were seen around the strong room which is not allowed.

“As voting is over in Chhattisgarh, we've suggested Election Commission to ensure a secured counting process and firm security measures for EVMs and strong room, as unidentified persons with laptops and mobiles were seen around the strong room which is not allowed,” Punia said.

Yesterday, few Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) workers protested outside the strong room in Satna after a viral video showed an unknown person taking a carton inside the highly protected area.

The workers claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP)-led state government was trying to tamper the EVMs. However, the district administration has denied all the charges and stated that the EVMs were under the supervision of security personnel.

The people of Madhya Pradesh went for voting on November 28. The first phase of elections in Chhattisgarh was held for 18 seats on November 12 while the second phase was held on November 20. The counting of votes will take place on December 11 in both states.

Cong delegations meets EC in Delhi

 A Congress delegation met the Election Commission Saturday in Delhi and raised concern over the security of EVMs inside strong rooms and their handling during the counting process in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and the alleged deletion of voters in Uttar Pradesh.

Talking to reporters after meeting the Election Commission, Congress leader and AICC's Chhattisgarh in-charge P L Punia said suspicious activities were being reported in the Dhamtari Assembly seat in the state. 

He claimed suspicious people with laptops and mobile phones were seen around the strong rooms, where Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were kept after the voting, on the pretext of repairing the CCTVs.

The party has also lodged a complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer in Raipur regarding this, Punia said.

Congress MP Vivek Tankha claimed there was no electricity in a strong room in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal city for over an hour during which the CCTV cameras had also stopped functioning.

He also claimed that 48 hours after the closing of polls in the state, a school bus bearing no number plate and carrying EVMs had reached the Sagar district collector's office.

"The objective of this was ostensibly to deposit these machines with the office of the collector. These spare EVMs were to be deposited two hours after the polls and not after two days. This happened in the Khuria seat from where the state home minister is contesting the polls," Tankha told reporters.

Senior Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi alleged that in Uttar Pradesh's Sarhanpur district there were discrepancies such as erroneous deletion of names of voters on booth number 44.

He said glaring anomalies were found in 98 of the 100 forms on this booth and names of people of a particular community were being deleted so they could not vote against the ruling party.

"The Election Commission has assured us that they will look into it," Singhvi said.