The Congress on
Friday urged the Election Commission of India to wake up and cease to operate in a complicit
manner to save the democracy in the country. The statements were made in
response to allegations of an electronic voting machine (EVM) being found in a
BJP candidate’s car on Thursday.

“It will be highly
fatal for India’s democracy if the Election Commission doesn’t wake up now and
remain’s complicit,” said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

On Thursday,
violence erupted in Karimganj district of the poll-bound Assam after the crowd
spotted a BJP candidate’s vehicle laden with an EVM, transporting the machine
to the strong room. The video of the incident started doing rounds on social
media.

The EC suspended
four poll officials and ordered a repoll at the booth as a video went viral on
social media.

Congress leader
Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at the Election Commission, tweeting in Hindi that
the “EC’s car has broken down, the BJP’s intentions are bad and the
condition of democracy has worsened”.

Congress general
secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said that the “EVM
fraud” was for everyone to see and asked whether the EC needed the BJP’s
help to carry EVMs.

“EVM fraud is
for everyone to see. EVMs found in the car of BJP MLA candidate Krishnedru Paul
after the second phase of polling in Assam. Does the ECI need the BJP to carry
the EVM’s?”

“If the ECI
doesn’t wake up even now and remains mute or complicit, it is fatal for
democracy,” he said on Twitter.

Surjewala alleged
that the BJP was staring at a decisive defeat in the Assam Assembly elections
and it had “panicked immeasurably”.

“The last the desperate measure is always EVM theft. Will the ECI reply – Why were EVM
recovered from BJP candidate Krishnendu Paul’s car? Why were EVM found in the
boot of a luxury car near Hatipura polling station in Diphu in Assam,” he
asked.

Also Read: Polling for phase 2 Assam assembly election concludes with 77.21% voter turnout

He posed several
questions to the ECI, asking why were the officials carrying the EVM in
Jamunukh without any security official accompanying them, in violation of the
ECI mandate, and whether the voters in Kalaigaon complained of EVM disappearing
from the booth.

“What enquiry
was held? What action was taken,” he asked in a series of tweets.

“Will the ECI
reply – Whether some suspicious officials were found inside the strongroom in
Dibrugarh, where EVM is kept? What action was taken,” he asked.

Surjewala also
asked whether 139 polling stations faced serious EVM malfunctioning in the second phase, including in Jagiroad, Nagaon, Hojai, Nilbagan, Lumding, and
sought to know what action has been taken.

Congress general
secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the Election Commission needs to start
acting decisively on reports of private vehicles transporting electronic voting
machines and a serious re-evaluation of the use of EVMs needs to be carried
out by all national parties.

Also Read: Congress accuses BJP of false poll victory claims, asks EC to file complaint

Tagging a tweet
which carried a video showing EVMs in the car of a BJP candidate in Assam, she
said every time there was an election, videos of private vehicles caught
transporting EVMs show up.

“Unsurprisingly
they have the following things in common: The vehicles usually belong to BJP
candidates or their associates. The videos are taken as one-off incidents and
dismissed as aberrations. The BJP uses its media machinery to accuse those who
exposed the videos as sore losers,” she said.

She alleged that
too many such incidents are being reported and nothing is being done about
them.

“The EC needs
to start acting decisively on these complaints and a serious re-evaluation of
the use of EVMs needs to be carried out by all national parties,” she said
in a series of tweets.

Congress leader
Rajeev Shukla said that with such incidents happening again and again, the EC
needs to restore the confidence of people in elections and the safety of EVMs.
He said the incident is of serious nature and must be probed thoroughly.

The incident
snowballed into a huge controversy with the opposition Congress and AIUDF
alleging that the EVM was being “stolen”, while the Election
Commission suspended four poll officials and ordered a repoll at the booth.

The vehicle of the
polling party of the 149-Indira MV School in the Ratabari constituency broke
down on their way to the strong room in Karimganj town, officials said.

“They took a
lift on a private vehicle. Incidentally, the vehicle was registered under the
name of the wife of the sitting BJP MLA from Patharkandi Krishnendu Paul. When
it reached the Nimal Bazaar area, some public spotted it,” an official of
the district administration said.