Assembly passes resolution on use of VVPAT slips as directed by SC

NEW DELHI:Three days before the all-party meeting called by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to discuss the concerns over electronic voting machines’ (EVMs) reliability, the AAP on Tuesday conducted a mock poll inside the Delhi Assembly to back its allegations that EVMs can be “hacked” and claimed “such rigging” has led to BJP’s successive wins in the recent elections across the country.

BJP MLAs Vijendra Gupta (C), Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Jagdish Pradhan during the Special Session of Delhi Assembly on Tuesday. Tribune photo: Manas Ranjan Bhui

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 9

Three days before the all-party meeting called by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to discuss the concerns over electronic voting machines’ (EVMs) reliability, the AAP on Tuesday conducted a mock poll inside the Delhi Assembly to back its allegations that EVMs can be “hacked” and claimed “such rigging” has led to BJP’s successive wins in the recent elections across the country.

To lend credence to the whole exercise in the House, the Arvind Kejriwal-led party had invited representatives of the CPI (M), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD, Trinamool Congress (TMC), Janata Dal (U) and Samajwadi Party to see EVMs hacking. CPI-M leader Nilotpal Basu, RJD’s Manoj Jha and leader from the TMC were seen seated in the gallery to see the live demo.

In course, the AAP dared the BJP-led Centre and the ECI that given a chance it can get the EVMs “tampered” through its engineers within 30 hours and in poll-bound Gujarat it requires “just three hours” for the same, before the House adopted a resolution demanding that every election in the country henceforth be held using voter-verified paper audit trail or VVPAT slips as directed by the Supreme Court.

The AAP government appealed to President of India and the ECI to tally the votes polled and those recorded through EVMs with the VVPAT record in at least 25 per cent of polling booths randomly picked in each constituency.

Referring to row over Bhind, Dholpur, Chattarpur and Mumbai civic elections, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, “The ECI can’t evade the questions. EVMs can be hacked and have been hacked and just takes 90 seconds, especially when the entire election, police machinery is under your control. I challenge the BJP that AAP with its 10 engineers can hack all EVMs in 30 hours and we need three hours to access the machines in Gujarat for the same servicing (hacking).”

The AAP has also blamed EVM tampering for his party’s rout in Rajouri bypoll and less than expectation performance in the MCD elections.

LoP marshalled out of House

As the session began, Leader of Opposition Vijendra Gupta was marshalled out of the assembly after he demanded a discussion on the alleged corruption in land deals embroiling Kejriwal and his ministerial colleague Satyendra Jain.

Newly elected Rajouri Garden MLA Manjinder Singh Sirsa pointed out that the AAP had “deliberately” not brought the Delhi Jan Lokpal otherwise Kejriwal and his minister would have been behind bars.

Sirsa attacked the AAP over “unfulfilled promise” of installing CCTV cameras in buses and public places, Rs 18,000 per person dinner hosted by Kejriwal, and ministers facing criminal charges while maintaining that the Rajouri result was a befitting reply.

Sirsa also alleged that an AAP legislator told him that Abhishekh Totani paid Rs 7 crore to AAP leader for the Punjab polls.

Timarpur MLA Pankaj Pushkar, a Swaraj India loyalist, differed from the party’s line asserting the AAP should accept its defeat and deeply reflect on what went wrong. “People have not voted for AAP and the party must concentrate on severe existential challenges,” he added.