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Congress MP Mallu Ravi slammed TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee's remarks asking those questioning Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) to prove their claims before the Election Commission, calling the statement "ridiculous" and asserting that evidence of tampering is difficult to find.
"What Abhishek Banerjee said is ridiculous because in EVM - if there is evidence which we can catch, we would have already submitted. Evidence is not possible because it happens remotely with somebody who knows EVMs. That is why our party is talking about this," Ravi said on Monday. He further suggested that Banerjee might take a different stance in his home state. "He is speaking because he is in power in West Bengal - when it comes to West Bengal, I hope (Abhishek) Banerjee will take this issue more than anybody," Ravi added. Dismissing concerns of political differences within the opposition INDIA alliance, Ravi said, "As far as the common minimum program is concerned, there is no political difference (within the INDIA alliance). When they have some perception, they have the right to express. It's not that they need to take permission from the INDIA alliance to speak, they have their own views." Meanwhile, Congress MP Rajeev Shukla criticized the Election Commission of India (ECI), saying that the Congress party had given several demonstrations on the possibility of EVM hacking, but the election body refused to accept them. "We have given a demo to the Election Commission several times, but they aren't ready to accept it. They start fighting with those who meet them in a delegation and argue with them. The main issue is that the Election Commission is not ready to accept," Shukla told ANI. The Congress party has raised doubts about EVMs following its losses in the Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly elections. The party also met with the Election Commission to express concerns regarding the electoral process in Maharashtra. Earlier in the day, TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee disagreed with the Congress on its stance over EVMs, dismissing the allegations as "random statements" and urging those raising concerns to provide evidence and demonstrate how EVMs could be hacked. "The people who raise questions about EVMs, if they have any evidence, should go and show a demo to the Election Commission. If the work is done properly during the EVM randomisation and the booth workers check during mock polls and counting, then I don't think there is any substance in these allegations," Banerjee said. "If still someone feels that EVMs can be hacked, then they should meet the Election Commission and show how EVMs can be hacked... Nothing can be done by just making random statements," the TMC MP added. Clarifying the party's stance, Congress leader Sukhdeo Bhagat said that while the INDIA bloc comprises several partners with differing opinions, the Congress's position on EVMs remains clear. "The INDIA bloc has several partners, and they have their own opinions, but the Congress party's opinion is very clear in this. EVMs are important to us, but for those who are operating them, their nature is suspicious," Bhagat said. Congress leader Kiran Kumar Chamala echoed similar concerns, stating that while the INDIA bloc parties may have differing views, Congress continues to have doubts about EVMs and the electoral process. "Regarding EVMs and the entire election process, we have our doubts, and we have expressed them. We are all in the INDIA bloc, but even our alliance parties have their own opinions. We have raised our issues... BJP is capable of doing anything," Chamala said. (ANI)
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