EVM tampering: Arvind lets BJP’s secret out

D Arvind's statement at a press conference was to the effect of whichever button a voter pressed on the EVM, the vote would go to the BJP, and summed it up saying ‘Aayega to Modi hi'

Hyderabad: The Bharatiya Janata Party is finding itself in a quite embarrassing situation after its Nizamabad MP D Arvind once again shot off his mouth, this time triggering a major controversy over whether the BJP was manipulating electronic voting machines.

Arvind’s statement came at a press conference at Nizamabad on Tuesday, during which his statement was to the effect of whichever button a voter pressed on the EVM, the vote would go to the BJP, and summed it up saying ‘Aayega to Modi hi’.

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The Bharat Rashtra Samithi immediately took cognizance of the statement, with MLC K Kavitha pointing out on Wednesday that a research paper by a professor of Ashoka University had already sparked a debate in the country on the tampering of EVMs. With a BJP MP too now making such comments, the doubts were strengthened, she said, adding that the Election Commission of India should seriously look into it.

The BRS Legal Cell in fact submitted a petition on Thursday to the Chief Electoral Officer, Telangana, along with a pen drive containing the video of Arvind’s controversial statement. BRS Legal Cell in-charge Soma Bharat Kumar, in the petition, said the brazen statement by Arvind was openly admitting that though a vote was cast in favour of NOTA, the hand or car symbol, only the BJP would win.

This was nothing but an indication by Arvind that the liberty of the voter to press the symbol of his or choice would be ‘grossly interfered’ with and his or her rights to vote violated. It was an expression of Arvind and his party’s intention to manipulate EVMs in the forthcoming Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, he said.

The BRS also pointed out how the BJP’s gang of social media trollers had targeted Un-Academy professor Karan Sangwan on social media, just for advising his students to cast their votes for an educated candidate. The professor was also removed from his job, the BRS pointed out.

Pointing out that Arvind frequently used inflammatory language and demanding action against Arvind’s ‘verbal violence’, the BRS said it was important for the Election Commission to take action to keep the confidence of the voters in the Commission and the electoral process itself. Inaction would give an impression that the BJP had no limits to indulge in illegality during the election process.

The ‘Aayega to Modi hi’ statement was cited by the Congress too on Thursday, with Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh tweeting that the secret was finally out.