EVMs: Hero or villain?
When elections end, mostly all parties get into introspection mode to examine the reasons for their victory or loss. If the party has done badly, at least a few prominent leaders in vantage positions will be expected to resign. But today things have changed. The parties that have lost hardly introspect, and instead shift the entire blame on hacked EVMs and rest is easy.
BSP did this when Mayawati lost in UP assembly elections without engaging in debates with the infights and polarization of votes and other factors that had caused the loss. With the loss of face in Karnataka elections, the losing party is now blaming the EVMs for this. The confidence Congress exhibited of winning 120 seats, and arguments of ‘no anti-incumbency’ have fallen flat with massive loss of seats. Even while the discussions on what caused this are on, some Cong leaders have alleged that EVMs have been manipulated in 30-40 constituencies. While observing the results from some staunch supporting places, this allegation may even ring true! But the blame on EVM is restricted to the machine alone, and no one is going forward to lodge a complaint or do anything to rectify it. If these allegations that started after UP elections are indeed true, why was the case not followed to a complaint and then corrective actions? Why are politicians conveniently silent when results favour them and cry victim when they are not?
This is not a new complaint. Long ago, L K Advani of BJP had blamed EVMs when the UPA government came into power in the centre. Many have proven that the voting machines can be easily hacked. This time around, pressing any button would lead to BJP getting the votes by default. The allegations of Modi government getting the use of manipulated EVMs have not died down. Yet, the BJP is asking a crucial question of ‘why reject the technology?’
This question may not matter much. But the point that many developed nations have gone back to ballot papers having rejected EVMs after allegations of their misuse surfacing, is a point to be noted. That does not mean those countries are anti-technology. They simply dumped the EVMs and went back to their trusted method because they did not want to compromise on their country’s foundation of democracy.
But India shows undue interest in continuing with EVMs, no matter what. Using technology for the sake of it should not be a matter of pride. We need to know when to reject the technology as well, in order to protect our institutions. EVMs do un-complicate the process of voting and counting by being time efficient. But is that the only criterion we should be considering? If someone can hack into the system and get the desired results, how prudent it is to continue with the use of gadgets? Is this not a mockery of the system?
The Election Commission insists that the EVMs can never be hacked, and on the parallel, many hackers have shown how it can be done. Apart from BJP, all other parties have expressed doubts about EVMs including Shiv Sena. The Election Commission needs to consider all this, and take a decision before the next general elections. All parties need to come together on this as well, in order to ensure deeper participation in this process and reach an amicable solution.
While others are at this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to answer why is he insisting on the use of EVMs when every party is raising doubts about the authenticity of this technology.
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MP: 7-year-old girl raped and murdered; minor relative detained
Barwani (MP), Jan 28 (PTI) Police on Wednesday detained a 17-year-old relative of a seven-year-old girl in Barwani district of Madhya Pradesh for allegedly raping her and killing her by throwing her into a canal, a police official said.
Superintendent of Police Jagdish Dawar told reporters that the body of the child was recovered from the Indira Sagar Canal on January 26, following information from residents of a village in the Rajpur police station area of the district.
He said the post-mortem report concluded severe injuries to the girl’s private parts and attributed her death to drowning.
Dawar said a 17-year-old boy, a close relative of the girl, has been detained in connection with the rape-murder.
The teenager told the police that he kidnapped the girl from her home on the night of January 25 while her family members were asleep, took her to a nearby canal and raped her, according to the official.
When the girl started screaming during the sexual assault, the minor boy allegedly threw her into the canal, with the intention of killing her. The child drowned in the water body, the official said.
The detained minor will be produced in a juvenile court.
A case has been registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and an investigation is underway, he added.
