BHOPAL: The public demonstration of Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) devices on Friday in bypoll bound Bhind district of Madhya Pradesh has triggered a major political controversy.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) sought on Saturday a report from MP chief electoral officer (CEO) Saleena Singh and the district election officer in Bhind over the mock-test conducted on EVM in the presence of several local journalists, wherein paper trail machine linked to one EVM dispensed slips showed only the BJP symbol.
Taking cognisance of the episode, the ECI has also sought an explanation from Saleena Singh about reports that stated she threatened local scribes to not highlight the issue in the local media in Bhind, failing which they would be detained at police station.
While the leader of opposition in the State Assembly and senior Congress legislator Ajay Singh Rahul and state Congress president Arun Yadav wrote to the ECI in this regard on Saturday, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) activists led by state convener Alok Agrawal demonstrated outside the EC's office in Bhopal, demanding the sacking and arrest of Saleena Singh in the matter.
Meanwhile, the Congress party in Bhopal alleged that with the Friday's incident, it now stands exposed that the Election Commissions’ recent submission before the Supreme Court that tampering of EVMs is impossible, is not true.
"We demand the immediate sacking of the MP CEO and lodging of criminal case against her for threatening the media. Also, the Congress party demands that the ECI should post officials from non-BJP ruled states in both Assembly constituencies, Ater and Bandhavgarh for holding free and fair bypoll on April 9," Congress state spokesperson KK Mishra told New Indian Express.
Meanwhile, the MP CEO Saleena Singh denied reports on the alleged incident and said, "I was only apprising the journalists of legal provisions and punishments for wrong doing in elections and never threatened to detain any journalist at police station. My conversation with local media has been misconstrued as threat by the journalists.”
She, however, confirmed that the ECI has sought detailed report in the matter from her as well as the Bhind district collector over Friday's episode. "I have already sent the report to the ECI. I still assure you that free and fair polls will be held in both Ater (Bhind) and Bandhavgarh (Umaria) on April 9," said Singh.
Incidentally, both BSP supremo Mayawati and AAP leader and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had alleged tampering of EVMs during the recent Assembly elections in five states.
