MP Ravindra Waikar's brother-in-law booked on allegations of EVM tampering during Lok Sabha counting
Mumbai: Mangesh Pandilkar, brother-in-law of Mumbai North West Lok Sabha MP Ravindra Waikar, has been accused of violating electoral norms by allegedly using a mobile phone inside a counting center during the announcement of the 2024 Lok Sabha Election results. The incident reportedly took place on June 4 at a center in Goregaon, a part of Waikar's constituency.
According to reports, polling personnel raised concerns after observing Pandilkar using a mobile phone, which was allegedly connected to an EVM. An independent candidate alerted the returning officer about the incident leading to action from the Vanrai police. Pandilkar has been booked under IPC section 188 for disobedience of official orders.
Ravindra Waikar, a Shiv Sena candidate, won the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha seat by 48 votes.
A report emerged on Sunday, claiming that Mangesh Pandilkar was using the phone, which was connected to the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM). Mid-day cited police as saying that this mobile phone was used for generating the OTP that unlocked the EVM machine
The allegations have triggered a political outcry, with opposition leaders, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, expressing apprehensions about the transparency and integrity of the electoral process. Gandhi criticized what he described as the lack of accountability in the handling of EVMs, labeling them as "black boxes" that require greater scrutiny.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena(UBT)’s Aaditya Thackeray accused the Election Commission of withholding CCTV footage from the counting center, alleging compromised transparency. This has further fueled debates over the security and reliability of EVMs used in Indian elections.
Once a traitor, always a traitor!
— Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) June 16, 2024
The case of the mindhe gang candidate from North West Mumbai gets murkier, as the gaddar candidate indulges in treachery with democracy now.
Surprisingly, or not, the Entirely Compromised- election commission, has refused to share CCTV footage… pic.twitter.com/hT27Bb2qDQ
Another Shiv Sena UBT leader, Priyanka Chaturvedi, said, “It is the right of the candidate to seek CCTV footage of the counting day, yet it has been denied by the Mumbai Suburban District Collector to Amol Kirtikar ji who EC claims has lost by 48 votes.”
This is all a part of Vanrai Police Station investigation.
— Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@priyankac19) June 16, 2024
Not to forget:
- There was pressure on Police not to file FIR which was demanded by not just @AmolGKirtikar ji but also two independent candidates
- it is the right of the candidate to seek cctv footage of the counting… pic.twitter.com/BQpIQTNzL4
Responding to criticisms, former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar defended the robustness of Indian EVMs, emphasizing their design as secure and isolated systems that are immune to external manipulation.
This is a huge sweeping generalization statement that implies no one can build secure digital hardware. Wrong. @elonmusk 's view may apply to US n other places - where they use regular compute platforms to build Internet connected Voting machines.
— Rajeev Chandrasekhar 🇮🇳 (@RajeevRC_X) June 16, 2024
But Indian EVMs are custom… https://t.co/GiaCqU1n7O
Chandrasekhar was reacting to Tesla CEO Elon Musk's comment on the use of EVMs during election process. Musk had on Saturday sought the elimination of EVMs from the elections.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
