
Hello friends, on 18 December, during the winter session of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly in Nagpur, I was the chairman of a demo program against EVMs. A day before, our friend Shri Ramashankarji, founder of Gwalior’s ITM University and former minister of Madhya Pradesh, had warned me on social media that you should not be a part of such a campaign. And I also thought that when experienced friends who have directly participated in Indian elections are saying how rigging used to happen during ballot papers in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar! And in my presidential address, I also tried to emphasize on the change made in the process of appointment of the Election Commission due to Ramashankarji’s warning, and the matter of spending money recklessly and the election reforms suggested by Jayaprakash Narayan!
But the present Central Government on Saturday, 21st December, while the hearing of the petition for the Haryana Assembly elections is going on in the Haryana and Punjab High Court, Chandigarh! And seeing that! After seeing the action of changing the rules of election conduct in a hurry, such that the common people will not be able to see the e-documents of the election directly, my doubts about the electronic election process have increased even more! Because when the hearing of the petitions for the Haryana Assembly elections is going on in the Haryana-Punjab High Court, Chandigarh! And the court has directed the lawyer Mahmood Pracha, who is pleading those petitions, to give the documents related to the assembly elections! Pracha had demanded videography, CCTV footage and Form 17-C related to the elections! And only after that the Central Government has made changes in the election conduct rules regarding e-documents! Under this, electronic documents like CCTV camera and webcasting footage and video recordings of candidates have been kept out of the scope of public inspection! Its notification was issued on Friday, December 20. Government sources said that this has been done to prevent its misuse. What kind of misuse? This change is clearly an attempt to hide the misuse. When the definition of democracy is democracy by the people for the people, then why this game of hide and seek? When you request people to participate in the voting and if a voter has doubts about the person to whom he has actually cast his vote, then removing the provision to resolve the doubts arising in his mind about his vote is a matter of cheating that voter. If any doubt arises between two people in any kind of behavior, then should it be resolved or not? This change has been made contrary to Sanatan Riti, which can never be accepted. If the government makes such changes as per its convenience, then it is a violation of natural rules.
And the most surprising thing is that while the hearing on this process is going on in a court, trying to stop it is not contempt of court? Regarding the change published in the newspapers, it is written that the Election Commission had recommended such a change. And on the recommendations of the Commission, the Union Law Ministry has amended Rule 93 of the Conduct of Election Rules 1961 to restrict the type of papers kept for public inspection. According to Rule 93, all election related papers will be kept for public inspection. In the amendment, after the papers, the words “as specified in these rules” have been added. The Law Ministry and the Commission said that there is a court case behind the amendment. Sources in the Commission said that – documents like nomination forms, appointments of agents, results and election account statements are mentioned in the Conduct of Election Rules, but electronic documents like CCTV camera footage, webcasting footage and video recording of candidates during the code of conduct do not come under its purview. The Commission said – the secrecy of voting can be affected by the misuse of CCTV footage of polling stations. It can be used to fabricate fake discussions. On the other hand, Jagdish Chhokar of ADR said that “
The clear meaning of this notification is that the government and the commission are doing something that they do not want to come to light! This is not a matter of national security! If the public will not see the documents, then who will?
Lal Krishna Advani was the first to raise objections about EVMs when he was the national president of BJP. And along with him, BJP’s national spokesperson Narasimha Rao has even written a booklet on behalf of BJP with the title ‘How is EVM wrong?’ And Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Dr. Subramanian Swamy have also filed a case against EVMs in the court. Whereas despite so much opposition, the Government of India immediately passed a law to stop information related to EVMs after the decision of Haryana High Court, then doubts are being created in the minds of common voters that if the party which itself had agitated against EVMs, after coming to power today, tries to hide information about EVMs in this way, then the matter is being made even more suspicious. Therefore, instead of hiding information, whatever doubts have been created in the minds of the people should be resolved.
Dr. Suresh Khairnar, former President Rashtra Seva Dal