Congress Alleges EVM Tampering in Haryana, Demands Verification of VVPAT Slips
New Delhi: The Congress party called on the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday to verify the VVPAT slips against the results tallied from Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the recent concluded Haryana elections. This demand follows the party’s allegations of EVM tampering, which they raised on Tuesday, along with their refusal to accept the election outcome.
The Election Commission responded by agreeing to review 20 complaints brought forward by Congress, seven of which were formal written submissions, accusing EVMs of malfunctioning. According to Congress, a suspicious pattern was noticed in certain machines where BJP victories were recorded. These EVMs were charged at 99%, whereas the machines in constituencies where Congress won registered a charge of 60-70%.
Pawan Khera, a senior Congress leader, addressed the media, stating, “The Election Commission has assured us that they will investigate the matter thoroughly and provide a response after consulting the returning officers in each constituency. We submitted documents related to 20 complaints, with additional reports from 13 more constituencies to follow within 48 hours.”
Khera further emphasized that top party leaders, including KC Venugopal, Ashok Gehlot, Jairam Ramesh, Ajay Maken, and Bhupinder Singh Hooda, met with ECI officials to raise concerns over the 99% charged EVMs. Congress also urged the ECI to seal and secure the suspicious machines until the investigation is completed.
