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Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh on Monday requested the Election Commission of India to hand over VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) slips to voters. He cited a report of tampering with EVMs during the trial of machines in the poll-bound state.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the Congress leader said, “Respected Election Commission, we have only one request, please hand over the VVPAT slip to us separately, which we will keep in a separate ballot box.”
“Before counting, count the votes from any 10 ballot boxes and tally them with the results from the counting unit. If the result of both is the same then declare the result from the results of the Counting Unit,” he said.
"What problem does the Election Commission have with this? We request the Supreme Court to take this matter seriously and save democracy in the country," he added.
He also posted a YouTube link that showed the VVPAT slip of only one political party received during the trial of Electronic Voting Machine in Madhya Pradesh that will go to polls on November 17. The counting of votes will take place on December 3.
Reacting to Digvijaya Singh's post, State BJP secretary Rajneesh Agarwal slammed the Congress party saying whenever it is losing badly in elections, it starts blaming EVMs.
"Whenever Congress is losing badly in elections, it starts blaming EVMs. Even after the allegations were rejected by the Supreme Court and ECI, Digvijaya Singh used to mislead the public and blame EVMs for the defeat of the Congress. There is no confidence left in Congress. Congress is already starting efforts to make such allegations," Agarwal said.
He further claimed that the BJP would register victory in the forthcoming assembly polls with over 150 out of 230 seats in the state.
Meanwhile, the Kamal Nath-led Congress released the party manifesto on Tuesday. The manifesto made a slew of poll promises including ₹25 lakh health insurance coverage for all the people in Madhya Pradesh, Old Pension Scheme, caste census, and Nari Samman Nidhi of ₹1,500 per month to women.
The 106-page manifesto by the opposition Congress made 59 poll promises, with assurances for all sections of the society, including farmers, women, and government employees.
Congress emphasized the importance of addressing mineral policy issues, labor rights, access to clean water, technological research, social justice, and the uplifting of backward classes, scheduled castes, and tribes.
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