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If implemented, RVMs can lead to a “social transformation” for migrants, according to the EC.
A united Opposition on Thursday raised questions on the efficacy of yet-to-be-introduced Remote EVMs or RVMs and decided to seek answers from India’s poll watchdog to assuage their concerns about potential poll rigging.
Many senior leaders from almost all major Opposition parties, excluding Mamata Banerjee’s TMC, unanimously agreed that elections should not be conducted using RVMs unless their concerns are addressed by the Election Commission of India (ECI), at a meeting held at the residence of NCP chief Sharad Pawar in New Delhi.
Congress MP Digvijaya Singh, Samajwadi Party lawmaker Prof. Ram Gopal Yadav, SP-backed Independent Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal were among the attendees. Despite Pawar’s invitation, no TMC leader participated in the huddle.
The RVM, still a work in progress, will enable migrant workers to exercise their franchise remotely – without visiting their home districts. If implemented, RVMs can lead to a “social transformation” for migrants, according to the EC.
Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said that there is suspicion in the country over the effectiveness of Remote EVMs.
“The election commission had called an all-party meeting over Remote EVM. Almost unanimously, holding elections through Remote EVM was disagreed (by parties). They wanted to give a demonstration, but that too was turned down. There is suspicion over this in the country,” Singh said.
The Congress said that the election commission itself accepted that the EVM is “not a standalone machine” as the names and symbols of the candidates contesting the elections are installed via the Internet.
“We do not say that it should be replaced with something else. But earlier they used to say that this is a standalone machine, but now they accept that it is not a standalone machine because the names and symbols of the candidates are being put in through the Internet. Earlier, they used to say that it is a one-time programmable chip, now they accept that it is a multi-programmable chip,” he said.
“There are numerous such questions which we have to seek answers to from the ECI. All the parties have agreed that we have to ask questions from the ECI. The confusion in our minds should be cleared,” Singh added.
Kapil Sibal – who served as a Union minister during UPA government and switched to Samajwadi Party last year – said that the Opposition parties had put forth their demands before the ECI. “However, we have not received any responses.”
“It is not for the first time that we have put forth these demands in front of the election commission. We have moved ECI numerous times and they have said that the EVM can be misused,” Sibal said.
The Rajya Sabha MP alleged that vote always goes to the BJP whenever there is any “fault in EVMs”.
“We have seen that whenever there is some fault in the EVM, the vote always goes to the BJP. This confusion is not only limited to the political parties, but also among the people. The ECI has not given answers till date. We have decided that we will go to the commission and tell them that we have been telling this for numerous years. What will you do in this regard? We will seek written answers to our questions so that this confusion could end,” he said.
Responding to a question on TMC’s absence from the meeting, Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary D Raja said that the party’s stand on all the questions regarding RVMs is well-known.
“Although TMC is not present here, we all know TMC’s stand. TMC stays with the opposition in such issues and we have also seen in parliament too, the party goes against the BJP-ruled Centre and raises their voice against the government and with the Opposition,” Raja said.
In January, 11 Opposition parties passed three resolutions alleging potential misuse of EVMs.
Without naming Opposition parties, chief election commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar, on March 12, said that “despite all the trust from people the commission gives Agnipariksha every time”.
“In the last 70 years, India has resolved its social cultural-political-geographical, economic, linguistic issues peacefully and through dialogue mainly because of established democracy which is possible only because people trust election results. Still ECI gives Agnipariksha every time after each election,” he told a press conference in Bengaluru.
This is in stark comparison to what has been recently happening even in many developed countries, he had added.
