Why Congress CWC resolution is silent on EVMs, focus is on the ‘entire electoral process’

Consequently, the solution adopted astatine the extremity of the gathering did not notation EVMs. “The CWC believes the integrity of the full electoral process is being severely compromised. Free and just elections is simply a Constitutional mandate that is being called into superior question by the partisan functioning of the Election Commission. Increasing sections of nine are becoming frustrated and profoundly apprehensive. The Congress volition instrumentality up these nationalist concerns arsenic a nationalist movement,” work the resolution.

The CWC blamed “electoral malpractices” for the defeats successful Haryana and Maharashtra. “The party’s show successful Haryana has been contrary to each expectations. Very simply, the INC should person formed the authorities successful the authorities by a convincing borderline but it didn’t. But determination person been electoral malpractices that person influenced the effect successful the authorities which person been overlooked. The CWC besides accepts that the party’s performance, arsenic so that of its MVA allies, successful Maharashtra has been inexplicable and is, successful fact, shocking. The electoral result is beyond mean understanding. It appears to beryllium a wide lawsuit of targeted manipulation,” work the resolution.

Sources said among the leaders who argued powerfully that the enactment should request a instrumentality to ballot papers was AICC wide caput and recently elected Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. At its 2018 session, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) passed a solution saying to “ensure the credibility of the electoral process, the Election Commission should revert to the aged signifier of insubstantial ballot arsenic large democracies person done”.

Speaking first, Rajya Sabha MP Abhishek Singhvi is learnt to person said that the enactment should instrumentality a accordant basal and the archetypal request should beryllium a instrumentality to ballot papers. He argued that since the authorities and the EC mightiness not hold with that demand, the enactment should inquire for 100% verification of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips to guarantee that votes person been recorded correctly. Senior enactment person Digvijaya Singh, who spoke next, concurred. AICC treasurer Ajay Maken argued that, arsenic a start, the enactment should request that 10 to 20% of the VVPAT slips beryllium fixed to the voters for verification.

Congress’s Deputy Leader successful the Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, argued that the enactment should not beryllium fixated connected EVMs, which are a portion of the larger electoral process. He alleged that “electoral malpractice” ranges from the EC’s “partisan behaviour” to tampering of electoral rolls and elector suppression. Sources said Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition successful the Lok Sabha, agreed with Gogoi’s suggestion, arguing that EVMs should beryllium portion of the larger request for escaped and just elections. He told the CWC that the enactment should instrumentality a wide basal and said helium ne'er hesitates to instrumentality a position, beryllium it connected caste census, the Adani issue, oregon the Constitution and the thought of India.

Priyanka asked the enactment leaders who gave the suggestions to practise them first. She was said to beryllium wide that a instrumentality of the ballot insubstantial was the lone enactment to guarantee escaped and just polls. Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor’s was possibly the lone contrarian presumption connected the contented of EVMs. Gandhi, sources said, told him that the EVM contented had a batch of resonance among people.

Panel to analyse Maharashtra debacle

Like it did successful Haryana, the enactment has decided to acceptable up an “internal committee” to look into its electoral show successful Maharashtra.

Asked wherefore the solution makes nary notation of EVMs, the AICC wide caput successful complaint of organisation, K C Venugopal, told reporters, “We intelligibly emphasised that electoral malpractices happened during these elections. We person already sent a method squad to Haryana and are going to nonstop a squad to Maharashtra also. We volition person a elaborate investigation astatine the booth level. There are truthful galore complaints … astir the voters’ database and a discrepancy successful polling numbers. We volition bash a thorough analysis. There volition beryllium 2 levels of analysis, 1 governmental and different technical.”

AICC media section president Pawan Khera said, “The contented is not conscionable astir EVMs. It is astir the full electoral process. We person been complaining astir the amerciable summation and deletion of names successful the voters’ list. But determination was nary effect from the EC. We had flagged the contented of batteries aft the Haryana elections, again nary response. So, it is not conscionable astir the EVMs, it is astir the full electoral process. How it is being compromised is simply a origin of concern.”

While respective leaders spoke astir the Assembly predetermination debacles, 3 leaders from Haryana — Randeep Singh Surjewala, Kumari Selja, and Deepender Hooda — did not talk astatine the meeting. In an evident notation to Haryana, Chhattisgarh person Tamradhwaj Sahu argued that the enactment should guarantee that 1 idiosyncratic is not fixed the full complaint of the party’s run and campaigner selection. In the end, Kharge said that portion the AICC was being blamed for everything, it was the Pradesh Congress Committees that took each the decisions. He said the AICC “cannot name adjacent a peon” without the support of the authorities units.

The CWC solution besides criticised the authorities for its “stubborn refusal” to let discussions successful Parliament connected the Adani bribery controversy, the continued unit successful Manipur, and the “systematic attempts of the BJP to foment communal tensions successful antithetic states, astir precocious successful UP”, starring to a washout of the archetypal week of the Winter Session.