In reaction to senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh claiming that EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines) can be hacked, Union Minister Giriraj Singh said that this phenomenon is “not new”, and whenever the Opposition loses in a poll battle, they raise questions on EVMs.
“It is not new. The Opposition raises questions on EVM only when they lose elections,” Giriraj Singh said while speaking to the media on December 5 in Delhi.
The Union Minister asked why the Opposition does not raise similar questions when they win in assembly polls, like in Himachal Pradesh or Telangana.
“Why didn’t they raise questions on EVM during the Himachal Pradesh polls or Telangana polls? When they win everything is okay, when they lose they raise questions on EVM,” the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said.
Giriraj Singh claimed that instead of looking into why people did not vote for them, the Opposition raises questions on the EVM.
#WATCH | Delhi: Union Minister Giriraj Singh says, "It is not new. They raise questions (on EVM) only when they lose elections. Why didn't they raise questions on EVM during the Himachal Pradesh polls or Telangana polls? When they win everything is okay, when they lose they raise… pic.twitter.com/0MT4ZG1Zo1
— ANI (@ANI) December 5, 2023
“When they lose instead of looking into why people did not vote for them, they raise questions on EVM. This is not new. When they win, the EVM is functional and when they lose they raise questions on its functioning,” he said.
Earlier in the day, former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh alleged that any machine with a chip can be hacked and that he has opposed voting by EVMs since 2003.
“Any Machine with a Chip can be hacked. I have opposed voting by EVM since 2003. Can we allow our Indian Democracy to be controlled by Professional Hackers! This is the Fundamental Question which all Political Parties have to address to. Hon ECI and Hon Supreme Court would you please defend our Indian Democracy?” Digvijaya Singh said in a post on ‘X’ on Monday.
The same theory was also backed by Gurdeep Sappal , Party spokesperson and Permanent Invitee to the Congress Working Committee, who claimed that in the Postal ballot, the Congress had a much higher vote share.
“Congress vote share was higher than BJP by a whopping 21per cent in postal ballots, but it got 9per cent less votes than BJP in EVM? Why do we see two different voting patterns in paper votes and EVM votes?” he said.
The BJP, however, tore into the Congress leadership, claiming that the Congress only raised the EVM bogey when they lost elections and the same EVMs had delivered a victory to the Congress in Telangana.
BJP leader and Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said, “The Opposition should stop spreading this negativity. By saying this (that there is problem in EVM) they are disrespecting the voters also…”
BJP MP Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti said, “When they were in power from 2004-2014, they did not question the EVM. They did not question it when they won in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka. They won Telangana too. Opposition trusts neither the EVM nor the public”.
In the elections, the BJP created a record in Madhya Pradesh and came to power again after having ruled the State for 18 of the past 20 years. Digvijaya Singh was an integral part of the Kamal Nath-led party campaign in Madhya Pradesh.
(with inputs from ANI)
