Illegal deletion of names in UP

New Delhi, Expressing concern over the issues related to EVMs and voters list in the states which are going to polls, a delegation of Congress leaders on Saturday met Election Commission and requested to take corrective measures.

The delegation comprising PK Punia, Abhishek Singhvi, Manish Tiwari, Vivek Tankha, TS Singh Dev, Pranav Jha, Ashok Dhahariya handed over a memorandum, which raised issues like the EVM security inside strong rooms and its secure handling during counting in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh and targeted deletion of voters in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur, to the Commission.

“We requested to the Commission that hundreds of names were wrongfully and illegally deleted from voters list in Saharanpur. We have reason to believe that these deletions are part of a calculated and dishonest modus operandi to distort and skew the outcome of future election”, Mr Singhvi said after the meeting with the poll body.

He also said that the Congress party managed to uncover crucial evidence in support of their claim and handed it to the Commission and added that there are chances that names of voters of particular community would be deleted, as the ruling party know it would not get their votes.

“The Election Commission must take immediate note of this (illegal deletion) and initiate a through audit of these (seeking to delete voter names) to determine their veracity. In parallel an investigation should be ordered to determine the identity of the architects of this fraudulent scheme”, the Congress said in the memorandum.

The Congress leaders also expressed shock that in Madhya Pradesh, a school bus without a registration number carried reserved EVMs to the strong room where the polled EVMs also stored. The leaders demanded probe into the incident.

“We raised three issues to the Commission which was happened in Madhya Pradesh. In Shujalpur, polling officer and others along with EVMs, staying in a hotel room, owned by a BJP leader, instead of government accommodation.

Second in Bhopal, there was no electricity for two hours in a strong room where the polled EVMs were stored, and CCTV too was not working. Thirdly, the EVMs reached the collection centre in Sagar, 48 hours the polls ended. They said the EVMs were kept in a police station in Khurai city where Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Bhupendra Singh had contested”, said Mr Tankha.

Mr Punia said they have complained about the incident in Chhattisgarh where people with laptops, boxes and mobile phones, entered the strong rooms illegally.

Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel said some are indulging in desperate measures to tamper with EVMs in stronger rooms.

“Sensing a defeat in Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh, some are indulging in desperate measures by attempting to tamper with EVM’s in strong rooms. Urge the Election Commission to investigate and take concrete action”, he tweeted with CCTV visuals of people entering a strong room.

“This is absolutely shocking”, Mr Patel said in another tweet, which shows the visuals of a bus carrying the EVMs.

Another senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia also said workers on ground are alarmed that efforts are underway to tamper EVMs. He was responded to a tweet from Chief Electoral Office that they are reaffirms that all EVMs were tamperproof and secure in a sealed strong room.

“Thank you for your assurance. However, workers on ground are alarmed that efforts are underway to tamper EVMs. Chief Electoral Office must cautiously guard against such efforts. I also reiterate the request for detailed information on malfunctioning EVMs and VVPATs”, he tweeted.