A day after Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) swept the Assembly elections with a majority of 88 seats, TRS leader and incumbent minister KT Rama Rao hit out at the Congress over the latter’s allegation that the EVMs had malfunctioned and that there was foul play in counting votes.
Taking a dig at the Telangana Congress leaders, KTR said that the party leadership in the state ‘lacked the common sense’ to understand the workings of EVMs and the election machinery.
“The leadership in the Congress party, especially in Telangana, has to have some common sense to understand that if EVMs worked in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, how can you blame the EVMs and same Election Commision – which has held elections in Telangana at the same time? It's a matter of common sense," KTR said, speaking to the media on Wednesday.
“The Congress can continue to blame the EVMs till next elections in Telangana and they can continue to do the same after the next elections as well. We do not mind that," he added.
KTR has asked the Congress party to accept the people’s verdict and to stop resorting to ‘electioneering gimmicks.’
“Instead of being sore losers, I think the Congress should come to terms with the verdict of the people. The Congress party has to rise above the pettiness and electioneering gimmicks. Now they should realize that the people have given them the status of opposition, so let them at least respect the verdict of the people and work forward,” KTR said.
On Tuesday, even as the counting of votes was underway, Telangana Congress Chief Uttam Kumar Reddy alleged tampering of EVMs and accused Election Commission of having a ‘nexus’ with the TRS.
Uttam had stated that there are suspicions of EVM tampering, owing to discrepancies between the results and the polling percentages in many constituencies.
Uttam stating that the EC is answerable to the doubts being raised by people of Telangana. "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 had said.