TC casts 'EVMs could have been manipulated' slur
Source: The Sangai Express / Newmai News Network

Imphal, March 07 2012: With the ruling Congress sweeping the 10th Assembly election, the Trinamool Congress (TC) has casts suspicion on the mechanism of the Electronic Voting Machins (EVMs) utilized in the recently held election.

TC, which expected to win over twenty seats, grabbed seven seats becoming the second largest party after Congress with its candidates coming second in 17 constituencies for which counting was held yesterday.

TC is one of the key members of the People's Democratic Alliance (PDA), the pre-poll Ppposition alliance set up to form a non-Congress Government.

Other members of the alliance- Manipur People's Party (MPP), CPI, BJP, CPI (M) and JD(U) etc- bit the dust drawing a blank.

"We never thought that the Congress would win 42 seats when the people are suffering in all spheres- bad road condition, deteriorating law and order situation , rampant corruption and total failure in power supply," said Manipur unit TC president and former MP Kim Gangte.

"This being the case, we suspect that the EVMs could have been manipulated.

Rooms to manipulate them cannot be ruled out in the fast growing world of technology.

To set aside such doubts, we want the earlier system of ballot papers," Gangte said.

Following the detection of gross mismatching of the voters' photos and the photographs incorporated in the electoral rolls in the just concluded polls, Gangte also expressed dissatisfaction over the Election Commission's trial run of photographing voters only in Manipur and not in other poll-bound States.

"Manipur's voters are not Gunea pigs on which newly manufactured medicines are administered to see their reactions and side effects before marketing them.

When we asserted that the votes of the mismatched photos must be deleted, the ECI straightaway said that there was no mechanism to do it.

That sort of trial run should not have been done without having corrective measures or mechanisms," she rued.

Responding to a query, she said the TC high command has instructed that the 7 legislators should sit on the Opposition bench and play the role of an effective Opposition.

"We will abide by the decree of our high command.

We will continue to work for the betterment of the society," she added.

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