Days after the Election Commission responded to concerns raised by the INDIA bloc of Opposition parties over Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that specific concerns “remained unaddressed”, and sought a meeting with members of the EC. He called the clarification issued by the EC “generic”, adding that “no hearing or meeting was provided to the INDIA parties’ delegation despite repeated requests”.

 

In a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, Ramesh wrote that the INDIA bloc has been unsuccessful in meeting members of the EC to put forth its suggestions on the use of Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips. “On December 20, 2023, we requested for an appointment with the ECI to ‘discuss and provide suggestions on the use of VVPATs’ based on a resolution passed at meeting of leaders of INDIA parties held the previous day. We have been trying to meet with the ECI to hand over a copy of this resolution and have a discussion but have not been successful so far in doing so,” Ramesh wrote.

 

On December 19, the INDIA bloc of parties had passed a resolution, noting that INDIA parties have submitted a detailed memorandum to the ECI with “several specific questions on the design and operation of the EVMs”. “Unfortunately, the ECI has been reluctant to meet an INDIA delegation on this memorandum,” the resolution stated.

 

“Our suggestion is simple: Instead of the VVPAT slip falling in the box, it should be handed over to the voter who shall then place it in a separate ballot box after having verified his or her choice. 100% counting of VVPAT slips should then be done,” the resolution read.

 

“I once again make a request for an opportunity for a 3-4 member team of INDIA party leaders to meet with you and your colleagues and take a few minutes to put forward our point of view on VVPATs. Surely, this is put forward is a perfectly reasonable and legitimate,” Ramesh said.

 

This comes after a series of requests by the INDIA bloc to meet members of the EC, according to Ramesh.

 

“On August 9, 2023, a memorandum had been submitted to the ECI on EVM- related concerns of INDIA parties. This was supported with several requests – on August 9, 2023, August 10, 2023, August 16, 2023, August 18, 2023, and August 23, 2023, – for a meeting of an INDIA Parties’ delegation with the ECI. On August 23, 2023, ECI issued a clarification to our counsel on the memorandum,” he stated.

 

The EC has revised and expanded its Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page to address the doubts raised — including how Indian EVMs are different from the ones banned in Germany; if VVPATs have a programmable memory; and if EVM manufacturers share software with foreign microchip-makers. As The Indian Express had reported earlier, the EC had responded to the alliance over its concerns, citing the revised FAQs on EVMs uploaded in August.

 

Ramesh, in his letter, stated, “This clarification was generic in nature and (1) directed us to refer to the standard FAQs on EVMS available on the ECI website; (ii) explained the legal backing for EVMs through Section 61A of the Representation of Peoples’ Act, 1951; (iii) summarised the judgments of the High Courts and the Supreme Court on the issue of EVMs; (iv) provided a chart of assembly and parliamentary election results since 2004 to show that the political party winning the maximum number of seats changed several times. However, there was no meeting or hearing provided to the INDIA Parties delegation despite repeated requests.”

 

The Congress leader added that “no response was received” on a follow-up representation sent on October 2, 2023, by the INDIA bloc over specific concerns that “remained unaddressed”.

 

 

 

The brewing tension between the old guard and the new in the Trinamool Congress spilled into the open on its foundation day Monday, with the usually recalcitrant state president Subrata Bakshi weighing in and being attacked by the other side.

 

After other leaders joined the debate, in favour of either TMC chief Mamata Banerjee on one side and her nephew and TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on the other, the day ended with him calling on her. TMC sources insisted that it was a courtesy call by Abhishek on the New Year to Mamata’s residence.

 

Unfurling the TMC flag at the ceremony to mark the setting up of the party on this day in 1998, Bakshi first raised the issue. Not heard during the recent war of words within the party, which has included a recommendation that there be an upper age limit for leaders, Bakshi said: “Abhishek Banerjee is our all-India general secretary… Swabhabikbhabei, ei nirbachone jodi lorai koren, ta hole Mamata Banerjee ke saamne rekhei lorai korben, loraier maidan theke pichhiye jaben na (Naturally, if he fights in the coming election, Mamata Banerjee will be in the forefront and surely he will not back off from the battle field).”

 

Senior TMC leader Sudip Bandopadhyay (speaking at another rally commemorating the party foundation day) seconded Bakshi, declaring that without Mamata, the TMC would not exist.

 

Kunal Ghosh, the TMC state secretary and Abhishek loyalist, who has been the most vocal against the old guard in the party, countered by accusing a “section of the senior leaders” of showing “pseudo-loyalty” to Mamata.

 

Ghosh first said the same at a foundation day programme near his neighbourhood and repeated it at a press conference at his home. “I respect our state president, but I have reservations regarding his sentence construction. It is not acceptable. Abhishek Banerjee is very much at the forefront, what he is doing is for the good of the party. He (Bakshi) is basically tarnishing the image of Abhishek Banerjee, making these off-the-cuff remarks, which are not good for the party.”

 

Ghosh also attacked Bandopadhyay, saying: “He saw the leadership of Abhishek Banerjee at the recent agitation in Delhi (against the state’s pending dues vis-a-vis the Centre). All these statements are creating division within the party. We want seniors to remain at the top, but by our side, we need a new generation.”

 

Ghosh further said, “Our senior leaders and ministers are with Mamata Banerjee, they are in different posts, but at a difficult time for the party, they are just saving themselves.”

 

Before the 2021 Assembly elections, Abhishek had suggested that those holding party posts not get a ticket. However, Mamata had not conceded this, nor has she endorsed the argument of the Abhishek camp that senior members of the party retire from politics.

 

Earlier, Ghosh had asked why the picture of Abhishek, considered virtually TMC No. 2, was not present next to Mamata’s at a party programme at Netaji Indoor Stadium on November 23.

 

Days later, on December 4, Abhishek, 36, said there should be a maximum age limit in every field, including politics. While veteran leaders were needed in every party for their experience, he said, “their productivity does fall with age”.

 

Incidentally, at one of the party events Monday, Bengal Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister Firhad Hakim said: “We openly admit that a section of our party has been involved in corruption. The TMC is a family, but that does not mean that we are all corrupt. Nobody in my constituency can say that Firhad Hakim is corrupt or has taken bribes from anyone.”

 

In a reference to the school job recruitment scam, in which former education minister Partha Chatterjee is under arrest, Hakim said: “Taking money to give a job is the same thing as cutting flesh from a mother’s body.”

 

In her message on the foundation day, Mamata said: “Our main objectives have been to honour the motherland, uphold the interests of our state, and to work relentlessly for protection of the democratic rights of our people. Even today, each worker and supporter of our party is committed and pledged to these objectives.”

 

(INPUT FROM AGENCY)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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