Opposition leaders form Committee to look into EVM manipulation
Kolkata, Jan 19: A four-member committee of opposition party leaders has been formed after reports of EVM manipulation by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee said on Saturday.
In addition to evaluating the functioning of EVMs and finding ways to stop any malpractice, the committee will suggest electoral reforms to the Election Commission before the Lok Sabha polls, Banerjee added.
The announcement was made after the West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo hosted a tea party here for the top leaders of 14 opposition parties who participated in her united opposition rally.
The committee, comprising Abhishek Manu Singhvi (Congress), Akhilesh Yadav (Samajwadi Party), Satish Mishra (Bahujan Samaj Party) and Arvind Kejriwal (Aam Aadmi Party) will submit its recommendations to the EC for implementation and will press for wider use of VVPAT, she said.
National Conference (NC) chairman Farooq Abdullah had called the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) "chor machine" while speaking at the rally and demanded that the ballot paper system be reinstated for the sake of transparency.
"The EVM is chor machine. Honestly speaking, it is so. Its use must be put to an end. Nowhere in the world is the machine used," he said.
"The opposition parties should approach the Election Commission and the President of India to stop the use of the EVM and bring back the old ballot papers for the sake of transparency," he added.
Speaking after the meeting with Banerjee over tea, Abdullah said, "Time is short and hence we want election panel to carry out reforms expeditiously for the sake of democracy in the country. Our Constitution is under threat.
"We want free and fair elections. We will never accept if election is held in fraudulent manner," he added.
Stressing that very little time was left for the Lok Sabha polls, Singhvi said: "We are not asking for returning to the physical ballot system immediately".
The VVPAT system should be enforced for proper verification of the ballots, he said, adding already four European countries have gone back to the use of physical ballot from EVMs.
Mishra said there were reports of EVM tampering in the recent state assembly elections in the country.
"Hence, we believe it is necessary to go for electoral reforms".
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UP: Fake IAS officer marries woman, flees with Rs 15 lakh dowry
Gorakhpur (UP) (PTI): A newly married man fled with the Rs 15 lakh given to him as dowry by the bride's family, and it came to light later that he was an alleged serial scammer, police said on Sunday.
The accused, identified as Pritam Kumar Nishad from Etawah, allegedly posed as an IAS officer to deceive the woman into marrying him. He is currently absconding with his sister, and a case has been filed against him for cheating, dowry harassment, and forgery, officials said.
According to the police, the woman's family claimed that they spent nearly Rs 30 lakh for the wedding that was solemnised on March 11.
The match was arranged through a matrimonial group, where the accused introduced himself as an IAS officer, sharing purported interview clips, office visuals, and photographs with politicians to gain the family's trust.
Despite initially claiming he would marry without dowry, the accused allegedly demanded Rs 15 lakh shortly before the engagement. The bride's family paid Rs 10 lakh in cash during the engagement and the remaining Rs 5 lakh on the wedding day, the police said.
The fraud came to light on Saturday after the woman reached Etawah, and a wedding attendee informed the family that the accused was not a civil servant. When her relatives visited the address provided by him, they found her in a small rented room, while the accused and his sister had fled, the police added.
The woman has also alleged that the accused planned to take her to Goa and sell her, and accused him of inappropriate behaviour.
The police suspect that the accused may have been involved in multiple such marriages in the past. Based on a complaint lodged at the cantonment police station, an FIR was registered on Saturday evening.
Senior Superintendent of Police Dr Kaustubh said efforts are underway to arrest the accused.
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