A controversy erupted over “shifting” of electronic voting machines (EVMs) from Patiala Physical College on Monday.
While Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took to the social networking website to accuse some officials of trying to “move” EVMs from a strong room, party’s volunteers in Patiala come face-to-face with district authorities over the issue.
Punjab Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) VK Singh has called for a report from the Patiala Deputy Commissioner Ramvir Singh who has been claiming that the candidates had been given proper notice about the act, and the EVMs were not the ones used for February 4 polls.
Already, AAP has expressed its apprehensions several times regarding safety of the EVMs and strong rooms across the state. It had also knocked the door of the Punjab and Haryana High Court which directed the authorities concerned to ensure fool proof security.
Finding Patiala district authorities shifting EVMs in trunks from Physical College instead of the “important documents” as candidates were told, AAP candidate from Nabha Dev Mann confronted the district authorities. AAP workers, present at the venue, forced the officials to stop the process. The EVMs of polling booth numbers 109 and 110 of Nabha assembly constituency were apparently being shifted from the strong room for which administration has loaded 40 trunks of EVMs in the truck. But, following protest, the process was stalled.
At the same time, the reason and purpose behind the shifting of the EVMs was unknown. At the time of the filing of this report, Patiala DC has not given any official statement. He was to address the media on the issue late in the evening.The issue was raised at the social networking website by Kejriwal who tweeted, “This is absolutely shocking. Punjab officialstrying to remove EVM machines,” on the micro blogging site, Twitter.
Delhi Chief Minister also posted a video showing some men opening and moving boxes which appeared to be containing EVMs. “Officers entered strong room on the pretext of taking some papers but started removing EVMs,” Kejriwal added.
Kejriwal’s colleague and in-charge of AAP’s Punjab affairs Durgesh Pathak too posted the same video alleging that the Returning Officer had only allowed the individuals present in the video to collect some papers.
Pathak tweeted, “RO allowed 4 people to enter the strong room where EVM machines are kept to take some papers, but they tried to move boxes with EVM machines.”
The video clip, which has gone viral in the social media including whatsapp, shows how easily the individuals in the video can open the box where the EVMs are kept. He is then seen lifting the entire box to a dark room, next to the staircase in the corner.
AAP leader Sanjay Singh said that he had asked the Chief Election Commissioner and other officials to take “strict action” in the matter.
The elections to 117-member state assembly took place on February 4, and the counting will take place on 11 March after the polls in Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand and Manipur.
On February 6, Kejriwal had demanded the suspension of a returning officer after it was reported that he had entered the strong room where EVMs of Gill constituency are kept.
During Delhi assembly polls, Kejriwal’s volunteers had physically guarded the buildings where EVMs were kept after the polls. But over a month long gap between the polling and the counting day is making it little hard for the party volunteers. AAP has, however, replicated the same in Punjab.