Chief Election Commission Rajiv Kumar, while announcing the dates for Delhi Assembly elections in a press conference on Tuesday, responded to the allegation from opposition parties.
Speaking on allegations of EVM manipulations, CEC Rajiv Kumar emphasised that it is his responsibility to answer all questions regarding the election process.
Saying that he would answer all the questions, he stated, “Sab sawaal ahmiyat rakhte hain, jawab toh banta hai. Aadatan kalam band jawaab dete rahe, aaj rubaroo toh banta hain. Kya pata kal hon ya na hon, aaj jawab banta hai,” which roughly translates to “Every question holds importance, they deserve to be answered. Habitually we give written answers, but today we will give them in-person. Who knows what will happen tomorrow, answers must be given today.”
CEC said that canards were being spread about wrongful additions or deletions in electoral rolls to target particular groups.
He said, “Electoral rolls are a product of transparency and participation. Political parties are involved at each and every stage of preparation of voter lists. Full disclosure and opportunity to object are provided. In deletions or additions, due process is followed rigorously.”
Before announcing the polling dates for the Delhi Assembly election, CEC took a jibe at opposition parties without taking their names and said, “Aarop aur iljamat ka daur chale koi gila nahi, jhuth ke gubbaron ko bulandi mile, koi shikwa nahi. Har parinaam me praman dete hain, par wo bina saboot shak ki nayi duniya raunak karte hain. Aur shak ka ilaaj to hakim luqman ke paas bhi nahi hain.”
During the press conference, in an effort to dispel any doubts among voters regarding EVM manipulations, he said, “There is no evidence of unreliability or any drawback in the EVM. There is no question of introducing a virus or bug in the EVM. There is no question of invalid votes in the EVM. No rigging is possible. High Courts and the Supreme Court are continuously saying this in different judgments… What else can be said? EVMs are foolproof devices for counting. Allegations of tampering are baseless. We are speaking now because we don’t speak when elections are on.”
CEC Rajiv Kumar announced on Tuesday that voting for Delhi Assembly Elections will be held on February 5 and the counting will take place on February 8.
All the 70 constituencies in the Union Territory will vote in a single phase.
