Leaders of 22 opposition parties met the Election Commission officials on Tuesday over reports of alleged tampering of voting machines. They demanded that if any discrepancy is found during VVPAT verification, 100 per cent counting of the paper slips of all polling stations in that assembly segment should be done and compared with the EVM results.
“We raised these same issues in last one-and-a-half months. We asked Election Commission why have they not responded. Strangely, EC heard us for almost an hour and assured us they will meet us again tomorrow,” said senior Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi.
Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu said the opposition parties have asked the EC to “respect the mandate” of the people and it “can’t be manipulated”.
Former President Pranab Mukherjee had also issued a statement on Tuesday on the EVM controversy saying that the onus of ensuring institutional integrity lies with the Election Commission of India
The Election Commission had “emphatically and unambiguously” clarified that the reports and allegations of EVM movement are “absolutely false, and factually incorrect”.
“All polled EVMs and VVPATs are brought under security cover to the designated strongrooms, which is sealed with double locks, in the presence of the candidates and in the presence of observers of the Election Commission. Each strongroom is guarded with round-the-clock security by Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF). Further, the candidates or their designated agents remain present at the strongroom for 24X7 vigil at all times,” the statement by the poll panel said.
Opposition parties have been sceptical about EVMs. They have often said the polling machines can be tampered with, even as the EC has ruled out any such possibilities. The EC even threw a challenge to the political parties to prove their claims.
The parties will also demand that the EVM machines should be tracked so that they can be identified with their numbers and location of use. An apprehensive Congress feels it is very important to track the EVMs to better understand the logic of replacement of machines.
The top opposition leaders had earlier in the day met to discuss the possibility of a non-NDA alliance staking claim to government formation.
Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ashok Gehlot, Abhishek Manu Singhvi of the Congress, TDP’s Chandrababu Naidu, Satish Chandra Misra of the BSP, Sitaram Yechury of the CPI(M), D Raja of the CPI, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal, Derek O’Brien of the TMC, Ramgopal Yadav of the SP, Kanimozhi of the DMK, Manoj Jha (RJD), Majeed Memon (NCP), Devinder Rana (NC) are taking part in the meeting among others.
“On VVPATs and the EVM tally, the EC is yet to come out with a procedure in case there is a mismatch. Even if there is one mismatch in the VVPAT samples picked for counting and EVMs, to maintain the integrity of the electoral process, all VVPATs in that Assembly segment must be counted,” Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Yechury had said.
