After NC and TMC challenge EVM discussion, Congress insists the issue is just with the poll panel.

News Mania Desk / Piyal Chatterjee / 17th December 2024

After Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah dismissed Congress leaders’ complaints to EVMs, fellow INDIA bloc member Trinamool Congress (TMC) claimed Monday that the claims of EVM tampering lacked substance.

TMC MP and party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee told reporters that his “personal opinion was that those raising questions on EVMs should show a demo of its discrepancies to the Election Commission (EC)”. “They should show any video to the EC. The EC even called everyone. I have been conducting elections on the ground for a long time. If someone works well during EVM randomisation and the booth workers check EVMs during mock polls or review form 17C, which is used to check ballot units or control units, during counting of votes, I don’t think there is anything substantial in these allegations (of EVM manipulation),” Banerjee said at the Parliament complex Monday.

“Even after that, if someone feels that EVMs can be manipulated, a delegation of them should visit the EC and show a demo or evidence proving there is some malware or technology to hack EVMs. If they are unable to do that, a movement or andolan should be organised (by them). Only making two-three statements regarding a matter does not mean anything,” he said.

Banerjee’s statement follows one by Omar that the Congress cannot celebrate its wins in elections held using EVMs and then raise questions on their reliability when it loses. In an interview with PTI, Omar said, “When you get 100-plus MPs using the same EVMs and you celebrate that as a victory, you can’t then a few months later turn around and say… we don’t like EVMs because now the election results aren’t going the way we would like them to.”

With the BJP pointing to the statements as evidence that INDIA bloc allies were not on the same page, Congress MP and Lok Sabha whip Manickam Tagore asserted Monday that the Congress had made no remarks against EVMs. “The Samajwadi Party, NCP (SP), and Shiv Sena (UBT) have spoken out against EVMs. Please verify your facts, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. The Congress CWC resolution explicitly concerns just the EC.”

However, the topic of EVMs has appeared on the Congress’ agenda. In her opening remarks in Parliament during the special discussion on the Constitution last week, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra urged for a return to ballot-based elections, adding “then see what happens”.

Separately, the party filed many complaints with the EC, alleging anomalies in the recent Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections.Dinesh Sharma, a BJP Rajya Sabha MP, attacked the Congress over the EVM issue, saying Omar “spoke the truth”. The Congress’ allies recognize the fairness of electronic voting machines (EVMs). “Their drama has been exposed,” Sharma told reporters outside parliament.

The disputes over EVMs are just the latest evidence of turmoil in the INDIA group, with Congress allies criticizing the party following its poor showing in the recent Assembly elections. The TMC, Sena (UBT), SP, CPI, DMK, and Aam Aadmi Party have accused the Congress of failing to accommodate regional parties, amid calls for West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo to lead the INDIA bloc.

In his remarks Monday, Abhishek Banerjee reiterated this, saying: “The INDIA alliance will sit and discuss this. She (Mamata) is the senior-most leader. This is her third term as the Chief Minister and she has also been a Union Minister.”

No party should be treated as small, Banerjee said. “The TMC is the only party in the INDIA alliance that has defeated the BJP as well as the Congress. This shows its strength. The TMC reduced BJP MPs in Bengal. We have a good strike rate against them. The TMC is the only party that BJP leaders have joined.”

INDIA coalition allies have also publicly questioned the Congress’s emphasis on highlighting the Adani issue above all others during the Parliament discussion.