Why blame the EVMs when those lining up before the Election Commission and the Supreme Court every other day cannot ensure violence-free polls in their own backyards? The spate of ugly incidents in which the ruling party toughs indulged in violence to keep people from casting their votes freely, while they forcibly cast bogus votes, is alarming.
Thanks to the ubiquitous camera-phones there is plenty of video evidence depicting the near-total collapse of the local administration in parts of West Bengal on the polling day. Trinamool Congress thugs in various places vandalized the vehicles of the opposition leaders, indulged in stone-throwing and generally intimidated voters from exercising their right to vote.
Crews of television news channels which were filming the outrageous conduct of the ruling party supporters, even as the polling booth-level staff submitted to ‘goondaraj’ in fear, too were roughed up and their equipment broken. The EC will be well advised to sift through the evidence available on social media and with various news outlets and others and order a thorough inquiry.
Otherwise, the poll in West Bengal will have no sanctity. It is an irony that Mamata Banerjee should mechanically parrot ‘EVMs are rigged’ without offering an iota of evidence to prove the irresponsible charge. However, as chief minister of the State she fails to ensure that the Trinamool goons do not prevent voters from approaching the polling booths- as they cast their votes in collusion with the booth managers. This is goondaraj, pure and simple.