‘Vote Chori Band Karo’: AAP Intensifies Stir Against EVM ‘Fraud’
Called the ‘Save Democracy Campaign’, the protests are being led by senior party leader Gopal Rai.
- Aam Aadmi Party workers protested outside the Election Commission’s office on Thursday as part of their ‘Save Democracy Campaign’
- The protest was in the wake of party leader Saurabh Bharadwaj demonstrating that EVMs can be “hacked just by changing the motherboard” in the Delhi Assembly
- The Election Commission then called for an all-party meeting on Friday to discuss the issue
- The Aam Aadmi Party has has also been demanding that VVPAT-equipped EVMs be used for elections
- The Arvind Kejriwal-led party has been alleging EVM tampering since the assembly elections concluded in March
AAP Demands an All-Party Committee to Look into EVM Allegations
The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday demanded that an all-party committee under the Election Commission be formed to look into allegations of EVM manipulation.
The party will approach the commission on Friday seeking access to EVMs that were used in the recently-held assembly polls.
Saurabh Bharadwaj Continues EVM Fraud Allegations
AAP’s Saurabh Bharadwaj addressed the media at the party office on Thursday.
“Why is it that all the technical defects in EVMs that have come to light recently, say in Bhind or Dholpur, favoured only the BJP?” Bhardwaj asked.
“After demonetisation, all the elections were won by BJP. There were no explanations about the technical fault in EVMs. Our technical team expert can show EC that EVM machines were tampered,” Bharadwaj said.
Election Commission Calls All-Party Meet on Friday
An all-party meeting has been called by the Election Commission on Friday to discuss the EVM issue. Seven national and 48 state parties have been invited.
The meeting will be preceded by the poll body’s officials who will demonstrate the machines’ security features.
The body is also likely to decide when its proposed ‘hackathon’, where computer experts will “tamper” with the devices, will happen.
Kapil Mishra Accuses AAP of Spreading Lies
Sacked Delhi minister Kapil Mishra on Thursday alleged the Aam Aadmi Party was spreading “falsehoods” that the man who tried to assault him at his protest belonged to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) youth wing.
Mishra, who is on an “indefinite fast”, was attacked by a man on Wednesday. He alleged that the attacker, Ankit Bhardwaj, was attached with the mohalla clinics project under Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain
Demand For VVPAT-Equipped EVMs
The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday demanded that VVPAT-equipped EVMs be used for elections. This machine would dispense slips confirming for the voter that their vote has gone to the candidate of their choice.
"Vote Chori Band Karo": AAP Ups its Campaign
Aam Aadmi party workers on Thursday upped their campaign against the “manipulation” of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
Called the ‘Save Democracy Campaign’, the protests were led by senior party leader Gopal Rai near the Election Commission’s office.
The AAP has been vocal in alleging that EVMs were tampered with in the assembly elections in Punjab and the civic polls in Delhi, both of which it lost.
Using a prototype of what looked like an EVM used by the poll panel, AAP MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj on Tuesday claimed that codes embedded inside the voting machines can be used to manipulate results.
The Election Commission dismissed Bharadwaj's assertions
Aam Aadmi Party to Start 'Save Democracy Campaign'
The announcement of the campaign was made by Rai during a press conference at the AAP headquarters.
He said that party legislator Saurabh Bharadwaj on Tuesday demonstrated in the Delhi Assembly that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) can be hacked just by "changing the motherboard".
"This is a great danger to democracy. We will start a 'save democracy campaign' from tomorrow (Thursday) and under this campaign, AAP MLAs and workers will stage a protest at the office of the Election Commission of India," Rai told reporters.
"AAP brought the truth in public by showing how EVMs can be hacked. We want all future elections to be conducted only by using EVMs with Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT)," Rai said.
Rai also said that AAP will stick to its viewpoint at the all-party meeting on EVMs called by the Election Commission on Friday.
AAP's 'EVM Expose' in the Delhi Assembly
AAP has been vocal in alleging that EVMs were tampered with in the assembly elections in Punjab and the civic polls in Delhi, both of which it lost.
Using a prototype of what looked like an EVM used by the poll panel, Bharadwaj on Tuesday claimed that codes embedded inside the voting machines can be used to manipulate results.
The Election Commission dismissed Bharadwaj's assertions.
The Delhi Assembly in a day-long special session passed a resolution on Tuesday urging President Pranab Mukherjee and the Election Commission to ensure that EVMs with VVPAT are used in all future elections.
The resolution also called for tallying of votes polled in 25 per cent randomly-selected booths with the paper trail generated by VVPAT machines.
(With inputs from IANS and PTI.)
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