Some ardent Samajwadi Party supporters have taken to the social media to threaten bloodshed and violence ahead of the counting of assembly polls tomorrow. The remarks have come in response to SP chief Akhilesh Yadav’s EVM rigging allegations, which began to pour in shortly after exit polls in Uttar Pradesh predicted a landslide victory for the BJP on Monday.
While Akhilesh Yadav, the chief of the Samajwadi Party, dismissed the pre-poll survey, he took to Twitter on Tuesday to rake the bogus EVM hacking bogey. He claimed that the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) had been tampered with and that he no longer trusted the poll body, the Election Commission.
Claiming that the Varanasi district magistrate was transporting EVMs without informing the local candidates, Yadav Tweeted in Hindi on March 8, which roughly translated as, “The news of an EVM being captured in Varanasi has sent a message to every assembly in Uttar Pradesh to be on the lookout. All SP-alliance candidates and supporters should be prepared with cameras to thwart any attempt to rig the vote-counting process. Become soldiers in the counting of votes to protect youth democracy and future!”
Without trying to put in any sort of effort to know what the truth is, some supporters of the Samajwadi Party were quick to threaten with bloodshed and violence. Responding to Akhilesh Yadav’s Tweet one of his supporters going by the handle @kyabolti2 Tweeted, “Only Mobile in hand is not enough. The workers should ready with bamboos & sticks”.
He tagged SP chief Akhilesh Yadav; Jayant Singh Chaudhary, the national president of Rashtriya Lok Dal Party; Priyanka Gandhi, the general secretary of the All India Congress Committee in charge of Uttar Pradesh and Om Prakash Rajbhar, the president of the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party in his Tweet.
Continuing his ‘EVM hacking rhetoric,’ Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav released another snarky poem in Hindi today (March 9) that translated to, “I’m writing in the hope that my conscience will awaken.” I’ve become ignorant, and I’m not sure why some news is unfamiliar to me.
In response to this Tweet also, another Akhilesh fan Arvind Yadav, who uses the Twitter handle @arvinddy, took to Twitter to threaten bloodshed. “Don’t mistake it to be Bihar, there would be bloodshed on the streets,” wrote the Twitter user.
Though Arvind Yadav soon deleted his inflammatory Tweet, one social media user @dimaagkoshot shared the screenshot of Arvind Yadav’s Tweet.
Strikingly, a glance at Arvind Yadav’s Twitter bio reveals his admiration and devotion to the Samajwadi Party.
Varanasi DM, CEC refute EVM hacking claims made by Samajwadi Party Akhilesh Yadav
Shortly after Samajwadi Party Akhilesh Yadav alleged EVM fraud, Varanasi district magistrate on Tuesday said that voting machines that were being taken were for “training purpose” only and were not polled ones.
Brushing off Yadav’s charges, Varanasi DM Kaushal Raj Sharma said, “Counting workers’ second training is scheduled for tomorrow at a UP college. 20 EVMs were being taken on a pickup van for hands-on training. It was stopped by some people, and confusion arose among them if they were polled EVMs.”
“Later a huge crowd gathered. All officers came here, they tried to explain to them but due to the crowd now all candidates and chiefs of political parties have been called for their satisfaction that the EVMs that were being taken, were for training purposes only,” he added.
Meanwhile, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra has also refuted Akhilesh Yadav’s baseless allegations of “EVM hacking” and assured that no one could hack an electronic voting machine. In response to recent allegations of tampering, Chandra insisted that everything polled was “strongly secured, safe, transparent,” and in the presence of each political party. “Nobody has the ability to hack an EVM. It is a completely secure machine. Every citizen should be proud that India has taken the lead and made the leap toward EVMs,” he stated.
Refuting SP chief Akhilesh Yadav’s claims, he further claimed that there was no bias or manipulation. “This is just an attempt to mislead voters and spread misconceptions. The EVMs in Varanasi were out for training purposes. The EVM used for polling is secured by a 3-tier structure,” Chandra retorted.
All political parties have to accept the results given by the EVM as it is the result by the voters of this country, the CEC added.
Jhansi Police practices use of mild force before counting of votes
Amidst all the hullabaloo over the EVM hacking bogus theories being peddled by the Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, it was reported today, how the Jhansi police practised using mild force before counting of votes yesterday.
Meanwhile, ahead of the counting of votes in the recently held Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the Additional Director General of Police (law and order) said on Wednesday that the Uttar Pradesh police have increased their presence and that those disturbing the peace on the day of the results will face action.