Fearing Defeat, Congress Again Raises EVM Fraud Issue
Fearing Defeat, Congress Again Raises EVM Fraud Issue
Congress complains that EVMs are not safe even when used with the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) option.
By Rakesh Raman
As the main opposition party Congress knows that it cannot win the Lok Sabha election of 2024 and state elections, it is again raising the issue of possible fraud on the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Congress often complains that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of prime minister (PM) Narendra Modi manipules EVMs to win most elections. But after some feeble verbal protests against EVMs, Congress contests elections on the same EVMs and loses almost all elections.
Congress today (August 24) quoted a BJP leader in its tweet to say, “’EVM पर कोई भी बटन दबाइए, वोट BJP को ही जाएगा’” In other words, you can press any button on EVM, the vote will go only to BJP.
Congress urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take action on the possible misuse of EVMs. Congress usually raises the EVM issue after each election defeat.
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When Congress was defeated by the BJP in the Gujarat election in December 2022, a Congress leader Digvijay Singh blamed the fraudulent use of EVMs. But he did not reveal any plan to stop the EVM manipulation.
Simultaneously, a Congress spokesman Pawan Khera held a comprehensive briefing to explain how EVMs were manipulated by the BJP of PM Modi to win the Gujarat election. But he too did not discuss any specific strategy to combat the alleged EVM fraud by BJP in elections.
‘EVM पर कोई भी बटन दबाइए, वोट BJP को ही जाएगा’
ये बयान BJP सांसद डी. अरविंद का है।
खुद BJP के सांसद कह रहे हैं कि चुनाव जीतने के लिए EVM हाईजैक कराई जाती है।
क्या ‘निष्पक्ष’ चुनाव आयोग इस पर कोई एक्शन लेगा?
ये देश के मतदाताओं का सवाल है।
— Congress (@INCIndia) August 24, 2023
Congress complains that EVMs are not safe even when used with the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) option. It is also observed that when EVMs malfunction, they vote only in favor of Modi’s BJP which runs with Lotus election symbol.
But no opposition party – including Congress – has the guts to boycott EVMs. And the Supreme Court as well as the election authorities are not quite willing to replace EVMs with ballot papers because Modi and BJP prefer EVMs.
With the use of EVMs, Congress knows that it cannot win most elections – particularly the Lok Sabha elections. So, as usual, Congress is blaming EVMs.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of the humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society. He has also launched the “Power Play: Lok Sabha Election 2024 in India” editorial section to cover the news, events, and other developments related to the 2024 election.
