Stealing of EVMs: RS MP Manoj Jha reminds EC of constitutional duties; says “signal about death of democracy”

In the wake of alleged “stealing of mandate” in Uttar Pradesh where counting of the votes will be done on Thursday, Rajya Sabha leader Manoj Jha reminded Election Commission of India (ECI) of its constitutional duties.

In a quick response to the query posed by the NH, Manoj Jha said that the ECI should introspect whether it has been fulfilling its Constitutional duties or not.

Arguing that there is “nothing in the name of the election commission” if it does not fulfill its duties, Jha – a vocal face of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, told over the phone that “ECI should go by the mandate given under the Article 324 of the Constitution”.

“Going by the mandate under the Article 324 of the Indian Constitution, the Election Commission should ask itself if it is doing the way it is supposed to do…an honest assessment will tell them that they are not.”

Article 324 of the Indian Constitution mentions the provisions to safeguard and ensure the independent and impartial functioning of the ECI.

The Article gives power to the ECI to direct, control, and conduct elections to all Parliament, to the Legislature of every state and of elections to the offices of the President and Vice President held under the Constitution.

When asked about the clarion call given by the Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav to “save the democracy”, Jha emphasised, “My concern is not what Akhilesh ji is simply saying, my concern is that in a democracy if certain situations appear compromised then there is no other signal about death of democracy than this.”

UP Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu too echoed Manoj Jha’s concerns. Calling the reports of the stealing mandate “unfortunate” Lallu demanded that ECI should conduct a fair probe into the allegation and tell the truth.

Sharing a video on social media platform, Akhilesh Yadav had on Tuesday accused the BJP of “stealing” votes and claimed that his party workers intercepted a truck carrying EVMs in Varanasi. Yadav also claimed that vehicles transporting ballots were intercepted in at least three districts.

However, the state chief electoral officer (CEO) in a statement said the EVMs were being brought in Varanasi for the training of polling officers scheduled on Wednesday and insisted that the “EVMs used in polling are sealed and guarded and are being observed through 24×7 monitoring”.