After losing to the TRS on a huge margin in the Telangana polls, Congress has predictably attributed the party’s poor performance to the ‘tampering of EVMs’. Accusing the TRS party of seeking help from the Centre to tamper EVMs in Telangana, Congress chief Uttam Kumar Reddy has asked the state Election Commission to count slips in the Voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPATs) as well, as there are suspicions raised about the functioning of the EVMs.
Speaking to the media at Gandhi Bhavan in Nampally on Tuesday afternoon, Uttam Kumar Reddy, along with a few other Congress leaders, said that there were suspicions of EVM tampering, owing to discrepancies between the results and the polling percentages in many constituencies.
“The Congress party had brought up the issue of EVM tampering with the Election Commission when the assembly polls were announced. The EC then dismissed the issue and called it ‘preposterous’. If the EC is not ready to address the issue even after suspicions being raised, it is going to be a black day for Telangana,” Uttam Kumar said.
Uttam, who has won the elections with a razor thin margin of 4,000 votes against TRS candidate Saidi Reddy, further alleged that the EC has been colluding with the TRS, from the time the dates to the polls were announced.
“In several polling booths in Dharmapuri, Sangareddy, Gadwal, people have raised suspicions on the distorted counting trends. The very purpose of VVPAT is to count them in case of discrepancies or suspicions. But the officials are counting the VVPATs on certain machines only as per their wish,” he said.
Ironically, the Congress party has won assembly elections with a thumping majority in the states of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, while in Madhya Pradesh it’s a neck to neck fight between the Congress and the BJP. Asked what the Congress party plans to do if similar questions are raised in northern states, Uttam Kumar said that he was only concerned about the party’s welfare in Telangana.
“I am the PCC chief of Telangana. I am concerned with the Telangana state where there are serious flaws,” he said.
Speaking to TNM earlier on Tuesday, Congress MP Hanumantha Rao alleged that the BJP at the Centre has helped K Chandrasekhar Rao to manage the EVMs. “Look at how the CBI and RBI have been undermined. KCR has not done anything in the last four years and the people are angry with him, he has not implemented many of his promises, be it 2-BHK scheme or mission Bhageeratha,” Rao told TNM.
Not mincing her words, TRS MP Kavitha came swift with her reply and told ANI that it’s always the losing party who alleges EVM tampering. “Even the CEC in a press meeting yesterday said that it is not possible to tamper with EVMs. People have given victory to TRS, what Congress is claiming is false,” Kavitha told.
At 4 pm, the TRS has swept the polls, and are set to secure victory in 87 seats of the 119-seat state Assembly and the Congress has been limited to only 22 seats.