THOOTHUKUDI: With little over a month left for the Assembly elections, the State has started showing symptoms of poll fever. On Saturday, the district played host to Congress President Rahul Gandhi, and he said that there are many problems with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and he believes the machines are not 100 per cent secure.
Interacting with lawyers at VOC College in the district, Gandhi said that he started suspecting the functioning of the EVM only after the BJP government at the Centre denied permission to the Congress party members to check the machines. “I don’t believe EVMs are cent per cent secure as they are not accessible and are kept out of the reach of political parties,” he alleged.
Taking a dig at Rashtriya Swayam Seva Sangh (RSS), Gandhi said that the sangh has destroyed the institutional balance in the country. He also urged the lawyers to defend country from the “brutal attack” on its institutions and to restore democracy.
On a question whether Congress had failed to choose the right candidates as many are under the scanner of Income Tax department, CBI and Enforcement Directorate, or falling prey to the horse trading, the Congress leader said the BJP’s monopoly on finances, media, and power has been ruining the fundamentals of the country.
“As a political person, I require institutional support, media, judiciary, parliament to address the issues. But they are now under the control of the BJP,” he said. Claiming that the RSS has penetrated deeply into the bureaucracy, judiciary, media and other operational units of the country, Gandhi said, “I did not know in 2014 that the institutional support would be pulled away.”
CAA and Farm Laws
Gandhi said while the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is discriminatory, the controversial farm laws are poised to wreak havoc on the agriculture sector and would be beneficial to “the three corporates”.
On the incursion of the Chinese troops on the Indian borders, Gandhi said that the Prime Minister’s kneejerk remarks that none of the Chinese troops had stepped into the Indian soil and that everyone had withdrawn, reveals that India is scared of its neighbour.
Recalling that the Congress-led government had diplomatically dealt such an issue in 2013 and had made the Chinese troops return from occupied territory, Gandhi said, “Under this government, China is not going to return the occupied lands.” The Congress leader also said that he is useful to farmers, court, women, men and the poor of the country, whereas Prime Minister Narendra Modi is useful to only two people - Ambani and Adani.
“The duo are using the Prime Minister to increase their wealth. But believe me, when time comes, I will throw them away,” he said. While campaigning at Cruz Fernandez statue, Gandhi attacked the AIADMK-BJP combine of belittling the Tamil language, cultures and traditions of Tamils. He visited salt pans at Kovangadu and interacted with the salt pan labourers on his way to Nanguneri. He also visited St John’s church at Nazareth and got blessings from priest Andrew Victor.
While campaigning at Sathankulam, Gandhi met J Percy, the kin of Jeyaraj and Beniks, who allegedly died in police custody, and consoled her. Percy gave a petition to the Congress leader seeking strict action against the accused police personnel.