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With TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee differing with the Congress on the issue of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), Union Minister Satish Chandra Dubey said it had taken the TMC MP some time to realise the truth about EVMs.
Dubey, the Minister of State for Coal and Mines, cited examples from the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand, where the INDIA bloc emerged victorious, pointing out that no concerns were raised about EVMs in those instances. "Two elections happened recently -- in Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand. The party that won in Jammu and Kashmir is part of the INDIA alliance, and no questions were raised regarding EVMs then. In Jharkhand too, the INDIA alliance won, and there were no allegations. An alliance cannot sustain itself for long based on a lie. Abhishek Banerjee may have realised this late, but at least he has understood the truth now," Dubey remarked. He further asserted, "There can be no hacking of EVMs." The debate over the reliability of EVMs resurfaced after Trinamool Congress MP and party National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Monday disagreed with the Congress's stance on the matter. He dismissed the allegations as "random statements" and urged those making such claims to demonstrate how EVMs could be hacked. "Those who question EVMs should go to the Election Commission and provide a demonstration. If the process of EVM randomisation is carried out properly, and those working at polling booths conduct mock polls and verify during counting, then these allegations hold no merit," Banerjee said. He added, "If anyone still believes EVMs can be hacked, they should approach the Election Commission and demonstrate it. Random statements won't achieve anything." The Congress had earlier expressed doubts about EVMs following its losses in the Haryana and Maharashtra assembly elections. The party even approached the Election Commission to voice concerns about the electoral process in Maharashtra. "EVMs are part of the election process. In the Maharashtra assembly elections, there were irregularities across the entire election machinery, and targeted manipulation occurred. The results of the Maharashtra elections are incomprehensible. We have raised questions about the entire election machinery, which poses a significant threat to democracy," Congress leader Jairam Ramesh told ANI on December 1. (ANI)
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