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IIT graduate and an IAS officer explains in detail why EVMs can’t be ‘hacked’ or ‘tampered’ with

OpIndia Staff
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IIT graduate and an IAS officer explains in detail why EVMs can’t be ‘hacked’ or ‘tampered’ with

Numerous political parties and journalists and activists with hidden political agendas have attempted to discredit EVMs after Exit Polls hinted at a clear NDA victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The Election Commission has issued several clarifications over the entire matter and assured that all protocols and guidelines are being followed. In spite of that, the ‘Compulsive Contrarians’ will choose to rather believe in their own versions of fantasy rather than objective reality.

Bhavesh Mishra, IAS 2015 batch, B.Tech IIT Delhi, on Quora gave a detailed explanation regarding why EVMs cannot be ‘hacked’ or ‘tampered’ with. His detailed explanation has been reproduced in its entirety below:

Elephant Passing Through The Hole Of A Needle.

The relevance of the above line would be clear after going through my answer.

I have recently conducted election in the state of Telangana the results of which were announced yesterday (11.12.2018). I worked as Returning Officer of Bhadrachalam (119) constituency (Returning Officer is overall incharge of conducting election in one constituency).

The whole process of voting through EVM has so many checks and balances that the chances of manipulating machine and influencing outcome is ZERO. If a machine is tampered at any stage of the election it would be known at the time of polling or counting very easily.

Before I go into the technicalities, let me first take you through the journey of EVM in my constituency (Bhadrachalam)

Arrival of machines at District Headquarter

After the announcement of elections, the EVMs were received from BEL (Bharat Electronics Limited) and were kept in the District Headquarter. All EVMs are stored in Strong Rooms. Every time a strong room is opened or closed the political parties have to be informed first. The entire process has to be videographed and there is a 24×7 surveillance through CCTV and deployment of police force.

Arrival of machines in Assembly Constituency

Till 3 weeks before elections, I had no knowledge of which EVMs will come to Bhadrachalam constituency. The process of allotment of EVMs to a constituency is done through randomization in presence of political parties.

After receiving EVMs from the district, the machines were stored in Bhadrachalam EVM Strong Room. Again the entire process of CCTV, informing political party, videography was followed.

Just a week before the election, second randomization is done in presence of General Observer and Political Parties where we came to know which machine goes to which Polling Station. For example machine number BCUEH61401 was allotted PS No: 1-Krishnapuram in Wazedu Mandal of Bhadrachalam AC (Assembly Constituency). This list is shared with all political parties.

So the possibility that a different machine was used at a polling station is negated. On the day of polling or on the day of counting the political party can easily point out if there is any discrepancy in the ID of machines being used.

(The above photo is of the day of randomization where I am explaining the entire process of allotment of machines to the political parties)

Commissioning

Before sending machines to Polling Stations, all the machines are verified by casting one vote per candidate in all machines in presence of Political Parties. This is done to make sure that only one vote goes to one candidate.

Random Selection

On the day of commissioning, the political party can randomly select a machine and cast 1000 votes themselves and count the slips from VVPAT to make sure that all machines are correct.

Putting seal

All the critical sections of machines are sealed in a way that signatures of all political parties are present on every seal. Each seal has a unique number. If somebody breaks open the seal then it would be known immediately.

Day of Polling

Every candidate can appoint 1 Polling Agent Per Polling Station on the day of polling.

Polling Agents are given the updated list of Electoral Roll. If you go to a polling station then you will find at least 4–5 polling agents inside the booth along with election staff.

Every time a voter comes, the identification of voter is done by all polling agent. This makes sure that there is no impersonation or bogus voting.

Mock Poll

This is an important part of entire polling process. Before the start of polling the polling agents should cast minimum 50 votes. The results of the mock poll are shown to all political parties and they can tally the results. This makes sure that nore-wiring or re-connection of the circuit has been done and the machine are working normally.

All Presiding Officers have to give a certificate that the mock poll was done and the result was tallied.

End of Poll

At the end of poll, all machines are sealed in front of Polling Agents and they have to mandatorily put their initials on every seal and compartment.

Polling Agents are given a record of total votes. So, if at the end of poll 974 votes are cast- a statement of this signed by Presiding Officer is given to political party.

Storing Polled EVMs

After the poll, the EVMs are again stored in Godowns with CCTV, Police Protection. This time the political parties are given an option to

Permanently sit in the front of Strong Room 24×7 !

There is separate room arranged where Political Parties can see the live feed of Strong Room on large LED screen.

These arrangements are made to make sure that no one enters (including District Officials, Returning Officer or any other ECI Official).

Once the EVMs are sealed in the strong room, it can only be opened again on the day of counting.

Day of Counting

On the day of counting the strong room is again opened in front of Political Parties. When a machine arrives for counting, the following points are verified:

  • Whether the machine belongs to the same polling station? (Can be verified from the list already given to the candidates one week before polling)
  • Whether all seals and tags are present? (Can be verified by seeing the signs of Presiding Officer and all Polling Agents on the day of counting)
  • Whether the number of votes in EVMs is tallied? (Candidates are already given the number of votes casted at every Polling Station at the end of polling)

When all the above facts are tallied, the RESULT section of EVM is pressed to know the number of votes cast in favour of one candidate.

The result of a machine is not communicated unless the authenticity is certified by all candidates!

The result sheet of every machine has signature of all candidates.

Random Verification

To remove all doubts, the political parties can select One Random Polling Station where we have to count the VVPAT slips and tally it with the result shown in the EVM.

The points mentioned above are just a glimpse of rigorous process that we follow to ensure transparency.

Now I would address the rumours and misconception regarding EVMs.

1.EVMs can be hacked so that no matter which button you press the vote will go to same candidate

The chance of above happening is same as an elephant passing through the hole of a needle.

On the day of commissioning and polling the political party can themselves cast their votes randomly and verify that the vote has actually gone to the candidate for which they have voted.

2.After the polling EVMs can be tampered to cast extra votes.

No. Since the number of votes are already communicated to the political party, therefore, if extra votes are cast then it would reflect on the day of counting.

After the polling, the Presiding Officer presses the CLOSE button. Once this button is pressed you can not cast extra votes unless CLEAR button is pressed. Guess what, this button is surrounded by 2 unique paper seal containing the signature of both PO and political agents. There is no way you can reach this button without breaking the seal.

The machine also records the time of last vote polled. Every Presiding Officer gives a diary (called Presiding Officer Diary) in which the end time of poll is recorded. If someone tries casting extra votes then there would be a mismatch in the time of closing which can be easily identified on the day of counting.

So if you manage to take away polled EVM in your house, it will be of no use!

Moreover, with the introduction of VVPATs there is a 2 level check. Political parties can randomly select a machine and ask us to verify all votes cast by counting slips inside VVPAT.

The beauty of the election process is that:

Every step involves the participation of Political Party. Without their permission and signature no machines can be touched, votes cast or counted.

I would like to conclude with the following:

The only place where you can fiddle with EVMs is in Lab or in your Mind. There exists no chance of manipulating machines during the entire process of election.

Conducting elections is one of the most difficult yet highly gratifying task and I am proud to be a part of this democratic process and working under Election Commission of India.

Have more doubts and queries regarding Election Process? Do drop in a comment.

Wish to become a future bureaucrat. Read here:71 to 51: My new book by Bhavesh Mishra on 71 to 51: My book for complete preparation strategy

EDIT 1:

Many people have pointed out instances where EVM machines have shown more votes than was registered.

Can it take place?

Yes. After doing mock poll (around 50 votes on the day of polling), CLOSE and CLEAR button have to be pressed so that when the actual voting starts the count starts from zero.

In very rare cases if a Presiding Officer forgets doing CLEAR then the count will start not from zero but from the mock poll count (say X).

Is it a big issue?

Not at all. On the day of counting all such EVMs are kept aside and according to the instructions of ECI, the VVPAT slips need to be counted for all such machines. The count of VVPAT slips will definitely tally with the actual number of votes.

That’s it!

ECI issues clarifications after opposition parties and journalists peddle fake news about EVMs

OpIndia Staff
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ECI issues clarifications after opposition parties and journalists peddle fake news about EVMs

Ever since the Exit Polls for the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections were released, the Opposition parties have initiated a concerted effort to discredit the EVMs used in these elections. The Congress President, the Deputy CM of Delhi from the Aam Aadmi Party, numerous other senior politicians from other Opposition parties and even some journalists have been peddling fake news and bizarre allegations against EVMs.

Under such circumstances, the spokesperson of the Election Commission of India has come forward to put these matters to rest. Certain allegations were levelled about the mishandling of EVMs in Chandauli, Uttar Pradesh. The spokesperson has stated that guidelines and protocols were adequately followed and the matter has been resolved peacefully.


The clarification issued by the Returning Officer mentions that the controversy erupted when unused EVMs and VVPAT machines were being moved to a separate strong room. Samajwadi Party karyakartas expressed concern when they were being moved and protests erupted over the matter. However, all political parties involved were informed prior to moving the unused machines. All protocols and guidelines were followed during the entire process and the District President of the Samajwadi Party expressed his satisfaction and on behalf of the candidate as well after the facts of the matter were duly investigated.

In Ghazipur, allegations have been levelled that candidates were being prevented from keeping a watch on the strongrooms where EVMs were kept in violation of guidelines. However, the Returning Officer in the constituency has claimed it was not so. In reality, some candidates, instead of the allotted one person per party, were demanding that 3 or more be allowed at a single shift. The authorities objected to that specific request and that alone.


In Jhansi, too, where allegations of mishandling of EVMs were made, the Returning Officer has issued a clarification that they are unfounded. The unused EVMs and VVPAT machines were kept separately from the used ones. The entire process was conducted in daylight in the presence of General Observers from all parties concerned.

Some doubts were raised as it took longer than usual to seal the rooms with the unused machines due to their late arrival, however, the due protocol was followed and all stakeholders involved were witness to the entire series of events. Moreover, CCTV camera and security forces are maintaining strict vigilance over the used machines.


In Saran, Bihar too, candidate agents had expressed satisfaction over the transparency and the guidelines being followed by the officials.


Thus, all the allegations being levelled currently at the mishandling of EVMs by senior politicians and journalists appear to be falling flat. Even the Karyakartas of the parties on the ground agree that the ECI officials are following due procedure and the process is being conducted in a free and fair, transparent manner. Thus, it appears the allegations are not based on grounds of truth but are borne of a malicious desire to undermine the legitimacy of the NDA’s looming victory.

Karnataka meltdown: Congress leader Roshan Baig trains guns at Siddaramaiah, calls KC Venugopal a buffoon

OpIndia Staff
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Karnataka meltdown: Congress leader Roshan Baig trains guns at Siddaramaiah, calls KC Venugopal a buffoon

Senior Karnataka Congress leader Roshan Baig has triggered a new controversy after he hit out on the party in-charge KC Venugopal and called him a buffoon. Baig even levelled allegations that the portfolios in the Karnataka state assembly were ‘sold’. Training his guns on former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, he said, “From day 1 Siddaramaiah said ‘I’m going to be CM’. You’ve gone to their doorstep to form govt!”


The Exit Polls on Sunday, that painted a grim picture for the fortunes of the coalition government of JDS and Congress in the state of Karnataka, has finally brought the simmering discontent within the Congress party out in the open.

Calling the in-charge of Congress Karnataka, KC Venugopal a buffoon, Baig asserted that the arrogance of Siddaramiah and the “flop show” of the party president Gundu Rao is why people have been disenchanted with the coalition government in the state. Baig made the remarks in the reference to the exit poll results that forecasted BJP sweep in the state.

Baig also alleged that the portfolios in the Karnataka coalition government were sold. He further added that Kumaraswamy cannot be held responsible for the failure of the coalition government because he was not allowed to function. According to Baig Siddaramiah asserted to be the CM of the state since day 1 of the formation of the government.


Baig has been relentless in attacking the Congress leadership in Karnataka. He also said that he has been unhappy with the party as no seats were given to the Christians and only 1 seat was given to Muslims. Baig alleged that the interests of the minorities, in contrast to the promises made, were ignored and they were used only to garner votes.

The rift between the Congress and the JDS was widening as both parties tried to outdo the other for the struggle to grab power in the coalition government. The coalition was formed against the wishes of the grass-roots cadres of both the parties who had fought bitterly during the state elections. Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy has expressed his laments many times over how he has been reduced to a clerk due to Congress interference in the governance.

Amidst the widening rift between the two parties, the forecast from the exit polls has delivered a body blow to the fate of the coalition government in the state. It is now widely speculated that if the exit polls turn out true, the coalition government in the state will collapse and many other disgruntled Congress leaders might come out to openly attack their state party leadership and switch over to the opposition.

Here is why Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik might be ditching his decade old ‘no political alignment’ policy

Sambit Nayak
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Here is why Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik might be ditching his decade old ‘no political alignment’ policy

“Our policy is consistently to remain equidistant from BJP and Congress”, on 10th January 2019, BJP party supremo and CM Naveen Patnaik had said this while speaking on India Today Mindrocks conclave at Bhubaneswar. Fast forward to the election campaign of 2019, Naveen ditching his decade long policy of nonalignment announced that BJD is open to support any government at the centre that fulfils just demands of Odisha. A couple of weeks later, the official confirmation came from party spokesperson Surjyo Narayan Patro making it clear in no unambiguous term that the party will not adopt the equal distance policy anymore.

Naveen has maintained his equidistance policy since 2009 after breaking alliance with BJP and getting separated from NDA. He never has had any national ambition unlike most of his regional contemporaries. Even while being part of NDA, BJD never bargained for any plum post. So, what changed in 3 months. Why is BJD singing a new tune? There can be 2 explanations for this.

Naveen senses NDA to fall short of majority mark where he can play the kingmaker. By virtue of this, he can coerce the government of the day to meet the long-standing just demands of Odisha vis-a-vis special category status, getting the infrastructure and industrial projects for the state and so on. However, this theory of ditching equidistance policy for Odisha’s interest doesn’t hold water. Odisha has been at the bottom of the growth table for a long time despite Naveen’s government is at the helm for 19 years. It isn’t that, all of a sudden, in 2019, Odisha has demands and aspiration. To get the government at the centre to listen to Odisha’s demand, there were ample opportunities when UPA 1&2 worked under “Coalition compulsion”. Even with a  full majority, NDA government gave plum ministries to its allies. Naveen could have tried these avenues for getting Odisha’s due in return. But he didn’t.

Another theory is, Naveen is wary of assembly results. His focus is clear. He needs to rule the state. There is no national ambition, no desire of any ministry, no ambiguity whatsoever. By ditching nonalignment, he has sent a signal to BJP that, if you fall short of a majority, I am your friend. But, you have to reciprocate, if the situation demands. Feelers have been sent from both sides. Naveen, whose primary line of attack during the campaign was centre’s neglect towards Odisha in times of natural calamity has thanked Modi government during relief and restoration of Fani, the cyclone that recently ravaged Odisha coast. The praise has been reciprocated from the other side as well. Naveen’s bête noire in this election season, Dharmendra Pradhan has gone beyond usual courtesy when he came to see off Naveen at IGI airport on the latter’s recent visit to Delhi. Even, party president Amit Shah has praised Naveen for conducting elections peacefully while speaking at a rally in Kolkata.

So what are we looking at post-23rd May? In the event, that both BJP gets a majority at centre and BJD gets a majority in the state, the talk of extending support won’t even arise. Ditching equidistance will meet a silent death. If BJP falls short of a majority, Naveen, as promised, will extend support on the condition of meeting long-standing demands of Odisha. If the case happens to be, Modi government getting majority while Naveen falls short of the magic number in the state, BJP will play the junior partner in Odisha, as it did from 2000-2009 while trying to cement its base further at cadre level.

In the 3rd case where BJD doesn’t get a majority and seeks support, BJP should play it to its advantage. Playing a junior partner in an alliance has never helped the party. UP with Mayawati, Maharashtra, J&K and Odisha where it was in government for 9 years along with BJD are ample examples. It should bite the bullet and go for the kill. And there is no way BJD is going to yield to this. Hence, there are 2 other options that remain. Re-election, which favours BJP. The second option is BJD forming government with Congress which will make sure the party dies a natural death as the party came to power on an anti-Congress plank.

All of these still remain grapevine. However, the pre-emptive declaration by BJD to ditch equidistance has set the rumour mills in motion. It’s not for no reason that a seasoned politician like Naveen will ditch his political stance of nonalignment for a decade. How all of this is going play out will depend on the numbers on 23rd. Till then, let’s enjoy the bonhomie between BJP and BJD netas till it lasts.

After Exit Polls indicate NDA victory, AAP leaders and journalist spread fake news to discredit EVMs

OpIndia Staff
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After Exit Polls indicate NDA victory, AAP leaders and journalist spread fake news to discredit EVMs

The opposition parties, in recent times, have made it a habit of trying to undermining the legitimacy of BJP’s electoral victories by claiming that EVMs have been tampered with to unfairly benefit the saffron party.

Soon after the Exit Polls for the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections were released, which hinted at NDA’s return to power, numerous politicians alleged that EVMs were tampered with. Congress President Rahul Gandhi himself voiced those allegations.

The Aam Aadmi Party, too, hasn’t been far behind with these wild allegations. In fact, Arvind Kejriwal cited EVMs as one of the reasons his party may not do to well in these elections.

And on Tuesday, Deputy CM of Delhi, Manish Sisodia claimed that EVMs were being caught nationwide in open vehicles by the public. He further alleged that journalists were deliberately maintaining a stoic silence on the matter so that they could attack the Opposition parties instead after the results were declared.


Sisodia’s allegation appears to have been motivated by a tweet by one Vikas Yogi, National Media Coordinator of AAP. In his tweet, Vikas had alleged EVMs were caught in vehicles in Jhaansi and the people in the vehicles had made a run for it.


Brajesh Kumar Singh, Group Consulting Editor at Network18, whose news report was cited by Vikas Yogi to make his claims, responded to Sisodia’s allegations slamming him for his tweet and asserted that the media had been tracking this news aptly. He further asserted that the AAP media coordinator’s version of events was greatly at odds with actual facts.


Singh, in his tweet, had shared the screenshot of a Bhaskar report from the 30th of April, after the 4th phase of elections. The report speaks of EVM and VVPAT machines being caught in a private vehicle along with the city magistrate in Jhansi which created a ruckus. Upon receiving news of the matter, the District Magistrate reached the spot. In the presence of representatives from all political parties, the machines were checked and it was found that they were actually unused. Soon after, the ruckus dispersed by itself and things returned to normalcy.

Not just politicians, even certain journalists have resorted to peddling Fake News to further their political agenda. Faye DSouza of Mirror Now stated that the Election Commission ought to confirm that it is going to investigate the allegations that are being made against EVMs.


As it turns out, the Election Commission has already responded to these allegations. It has labelled them ‘baseless’ and ‘frivolous’. The EC has further stated that wherever any issue was raised, it was resolved amicably after discussions with all the stakeholders involved.


It appears there is a concerted attempt underway to discredit the EVMs used in the Lok Sabha Elections. It could have devastating consequences for our democratic institutions as the faith of the citizenry on these institutions is being undermined for petty politics.

‘Don’t let exit polls discourage you’, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to party workers in audio message

OpIndia Staff
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‘Don’t let exit polls discourage you’, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to party workers in audio message

Rattled by the exit poll results which forecasted another term for PM Modi with an absolute majority to the NDA coalition, Congress General Secretary in charge of UP East, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has urged her party workers to not to believe in the surveys.

On Monday the Congress leader released an audio message, advising her party workers to not fall for “rumours” intended to make them drop their guard ahead of the counting of votes on May 23.

“My dear Congress workers, sisters and brothers… Don’t let rumours and exit polls discourage you. This is being done just to break your determination. It is very important that you remain alert amid all this. Please continue to keep vigil outside strongrooms and counting centres. We are confident that our combined efforts will bear fruit,” she was heard saying in the audio clip.

The aggregate of exit polls released just after voting concluded on May 19 painted a dim picture of Congress rout in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Most exit polls forecasted that the NDA would sweep over 300 of the country’s 543 parliamentary seats while the Congress and its allies would manage around 120.

This was not well received by many liberals and journalists sympathetic of the Congress party, who jumped into the fray underplaying the predictions made by the Exit Polls and trying to rescue their preferred political party by the dint of obfuscation and deflection.

However, deep down, surrendering to these striking numbers falling in favour of the BJP, the Congress’ mouthpiece National Herald made a striking revelation claiming ‘moral victory’. It said that even if Modi wins the elections, he will emerge ‘weaker’ and ‘diminished’.

Amusingly, the Congress President Rahul Gandhi himself, almost conceding defeat, had already started whining about the EVMs even before the exit poll results were out. The Congress President posted a tweet blaming the Election Commission for the impending defeat of the Congress party.

Moreover, after EVM manipulation and ECI collusion theories, Congress has now come up with another excuse. It is trying to make believe that the people of North India are ‘pliable’ to manipulation because they are uneducated, and hence they have voted for the BJP.

Though Congress has been outwardly disregarding the exit polls and placing their faith in the dubious internal surveys according to which they are winning 160 seats, secretly they have resigned to the fact that Narendra Modi is coming back for another 5 years as the Prime Minister of the country.

Meet Ashok Lavasa: A man surrounded by many controversies, going back to the CWG scam

Nupur J Sharma
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Meet Ashok Lavasa: A man surrounded by many controversies, going back to the CWG scam

Election commissioner Ashok Lavasa had kicked up a storm earlier after he alleged that he did not agree with the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) decisions to clear Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah of charges of violating the so-called Model Code of Conduct (MCC). He had asserted that he will not attend the EC meetings until his dissent is recorded and Sunil Arora had slammed Lavasa for his comments.

Now, his dissent itself seems to be under question after this report by TimesNow that says he had agreed to attend the EC meeting.


The entire Congress ecosystem had used Lavasa’s ‘dissent’ to allege that the Election Commission is biased and basically, is favouring PM Modi and the BJP. Incidentally, this was also a charge made by Rahul Gandhi much before Ashok Lavasa spoke up. During a press conference, Rahul Gandhi had made allegations of bias and even threatened EC officials with consequences.

But who is Ashok Lavasa? With him being in the eye of the media, here is more about him and his family.

The P Chidambaram connection

Ashok Lavasa is a 1980 Batch Haryana cadre IAS officer who entered the Centre in April 2009 as a Joint Secretary in Home Ministry during P Chidambaram’s tenure. In 2010, Chidambaram launched a book of Ashok Lavasa. The book’s name was ‘An Uncivil Servant’. Chidambaram had also launched a travel photo exhibition of Ashok Lavasa and his wife.

P Chidambaram with Ashok Lavasa and his wife

This image is unavailable on the website that had originally posted it, however, a google cache version of the image can be found here.

Website PGurus had claimed that Ashok Lavasa was the blue-eyed boy of several ministers in the Congress government and had received several benefits under the Congress government.

Business interests of Ashok Lavasa’s wife

Ashok Lavasa has been the MoF, MoEF, Power and Renewable Energies Ministry of the Government of Haryana in the past. Ashok Lavasa’s wife, Novel Lavasa, has been a director in many such companies that seem to be in congruence with his tenure in the renewable energy ministry and the power sector. According to PGurus, Ashok Lavasa’s wife “Novel is only a Post Graduate in English and resigned from State Bank of India around 2005 as Manager. Then she was managing the IAS Officer’s wives’ welfare association activities and some social activities. When she was in the SBI, she had gone for a course in Australia on Credit and Savings. Many Bankers say that she left SBI as soon as she got a promotion as Assistant General Manager”.

Following are the posts held by Ashok Lavasa over the years in his tenure as a civil servant.

Posts held by Ashok Lavasa

Novel Lavasa became the director of a company called Balrampur Chini Mills Pvt Ltd on 6th February 2015.

The Balrampur Sugar Mill Pvt Ltd, according to their website, is involved not only in sugar manufacturing but also in power generation.

When Ashok Lavasa’s wife was appointed as the Director in the Chini Mill, Lavasa himself was involved in the Environment Ministry.

Novel Lavasa was appointed as the director in another company, Omaz Autos Limited, which has an interest in the power sector as well. Her appointment as the director came on 29th October 2015 after Ashok Lavasa was involved in the power ministry between 2009 and 2013, during the Congress tenure.

She became the Director of another company called Powerlinks Transmission Limited on 2nd May 2017. In 2016, according to our sources, Novel became the Director in 9 companies of Walwhan and Welspun groups which are related to each other through common directors. These companies had interests in the Renewable energy sector.

Links to Commonwealth Games scam?

OpIndia has accessed parts of the Shunglu Committee Report that named Ashok Lavasa’s daughter and son as a part of undue favouritism being showed towards them due to their links to powerful people elsewhere.

Part of Shungly Committee report

The Shunglu Committee basically concluded that the Selection Committee unduly favoured Avny Lavasa in her appointment to as the PO (Project Officer) disregarding due process and because she had influential people who favoured her.

The observations made in the Shunglu Committee report were scathing.

The report said that the selection committee was constituted under the approval of the “chairman” and it was formed to interview candidates for 6 posts. The Committee was formed to select Directors, ADG, DDG etc. Interestingly, out of the 17 candidates who were invited to appear for the interview, only 16 showed up. Further observations in the matter were scathing.

Part of Shungly Committee report

The Committee rules that Avny Lavasa’s application was received by the selection committee after ‘several enquiries’. She was then interviewed by the committee and her name was recommended for appointment of APO.

The report asks how a committee that was formed to select Directors ended up interviewing and recommending a name for the post of APO. The report also questions, why other candidates were not evaluated for the post of APO and only Avny Lavasa, was interviewed and selected.

The report then concludes that Avny Lavasa was related to an “influential person” (being Ashok Lavasa, her father) and that the possibility that documents were created to provide legitimacy to the recruitment cannot be excluded.

Soon after Avny was appointed as the APO, she was promoted to the post of PO.

Order promoting Avny Lavasa

Avny Lavasa’s brother, Abir Lavasa was also appointed as the APO according to the report.

Avny Lavasa seems to be currently posted in Ladakh, according to a segment done on her by Kapil Sibal’s channel.

In 2013, The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs & Sports Jitendra Singh has said that the Government constituted a High-Level Committee (HLC) headed by V.K. Shunglu to look into various issues related the organizing and conduct of the CWG, 2010, including weaknesses in management, alleged misappropriation, irregularities, wasteful expenditure and wrongdoing.

The HLC in its various Reports has cited instances of irregularities, procedural lapses, delay in execution of the Works, financial loss to the Government, favoring of contractors, not following the proper procedure in awarding contracts, use of substandard material and purchases of material at higher cost, irregular appointment of various staff/consultants, lack of supervision/control over the contractors/staff. The High-Level Committee has in some cases also recommended investigations by various agencies.

Abir Lavasa’s business interests

Abir Lavasa is the son of Ashok Lavasa and certain business interests of Abir do peak one’s interest.

Abir Lavasa became the director of a company called Nourish Organic Foods Private Limited on 14th November 2017. Interestingly, insiders have told OpIndia that Abir was appointed as the director around the same time that two other directors, Naresh Kumar and Seema Jajodia resigned from the company.

It would be of interest to know that Seema Jajodia is connected to the company Monnet Ispat that has defaulted around Rs. 1000 crores.

According to SBI, the total amount claimed from the steel company was Rs 2,243 crore, although it defaulted only on Rs 1,539 crore. 

Sandeep Jajodia is the is married to Monnet Ispat and Energy’s promoter Sandeep Jajodia.

According to The Telegraph, “Seema Jajodia, who was also listed as the promoter of Monnet Ispat, transferred her shares by way of gift on October 24 but the company intimated the bourses only on January 27. Bids for Monnet were closed on December 12. It could not be immediately ascertained when Jajodia was declassified as the promoter of Monnet by the bourses. A petition filed by the employees of Bhushan Steel, where JSW Steel was a resolution applicant, had claimed that the transfer of shares by Jajodia in Monnet was “antedated”.

The allegation basically was that Seema Jajodia transferred her shares in Monnet Ispat & Energy “antedated” to enable her brother’s JSW Steel to be in the clear under section 29A of the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, 2016 that bars defaulting promoters and their related parties to bid for distressed assets without repaying overdue loans”.

There are allegations that the current directors in Nourish Organic Foods Pvt Ltd are Directors in name and the entire control of the company rests with Abir Lavasa.

A large number of shares of Nourish are reportedly held by a company called Bonita Traders Private Limited. Right before Abir Lavasa was appointed as the director in Nourish, Seema Jajodia and Nikita Jajodia were appointed as Directors in Bonita Traders Private Limited.

Man in Uttar Pradesh brutally killed his wife for choosing to vote in favour of BJP: Reports

OpIndia Staff
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Man in Uttar Pradesh brutally killed his wife for choosing to vote in favour of BJP: Reports

In a shocking incident, a man named Rambachan, a resident of Tarvania ward No. 3, Saidpur, Gazipur district, Uttar Pradesh, brutally killed his wife Neelam (25) for allegedly casting her vote in favour of BJP in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, reports News18 Hindi.

Rambachan, who wanted Neelam to vote for BSP had reportedly got into an argument with her on Monday as she chose to vote for BJP instead. Furious at her for not following his instructions the husband used a shovel to attack his wife. After brutally murdering her, Ranbachan stood beside the corpse until villagers started to gather, after which he left the spot.

The deceased’s family members reached the village and blocked roads to protest the murder. The Gazipur police arrived at the spot and dispersed the crowd following which a case was registered against Neelam’s husband and in-laws and they were arrested later in the day. However, Neelam’s mother has registered a case of murder over dowry against Rambachan and his parents.

Neelam, daughter of Ishu Ram, a resident of Gahira Basti of Singarpur in Khanpur Police Station, was married to Rambachan on June 19, 2014. The deceased is survived by two children.

According to some other reports Rambachan also suspected infidelity, due to which the duo used to get into regular arguments with each other. Moreover, according to a report, this is suspected to be another reason for the murder.

Earlier too, a Congress supporter from Madhya Pradesh believed to be close to a state minister, killed a 60-year old man after accusing him of voting for the BJP.

Arun Sharma, on Sunday, picked an argument with salon owner Nemichand Tanwar accusing him of voting for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) soon after he had cast his vote at the polling booth in Palia village in Hatod area around 2 p.m. Later, Sharma visited Tanwar’s house and murdered Tanwar in front of his son with a country-made pistol.

Tanwar, who was critically injured, was rushed to the hospital where he was declared dead upon arrival.

BJP voters and Karyakartas have been attacked throughout the election season for their voting preferences and political inclinations. Most violence was seen in West Bengal where violence was rampant and Hindus were even prevented from exercising their constitutional right.

The first ever World Cup cricket match witnessed India’s most controversial world cup innings

Ritesh
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The first ever World Cup cricket match witnessed India’s most controversial world cup innings

In little over a week, the 12th World Cup will begin in England. For fans it’s a cricket festival. For players it’s all about the glory. The 10 nation will play against each other to win the most prestigious trophy in cricket.

India has mixed memories with the tournament – from being winners twice to some heartbreaking performances. But between happiness and sorrow, there were some other moments too that perhaps not many remember.

Let’s look back on one of the most controversial innings played by an Indian in the very first World Cup Match.

In 1975, chasing 335 against England in their opening match India managed to score only 132 for 3 in 60 overs (yes you read it correctly, thanks mainly to Sunil Gavaskar who scored just 36*off 174 balls).

One of the commentator during the match wanted Indian captain S Venkataraghavan to pull off Gavaskar from the pitch.

The Indian team manager GS Ramchand was so angry that he openly criticized Gavaskar in post match statement “I do not agree with his tactics, but he will not be disciplined”.

Two days later he told the Daily Express:

“It was the most disgraceful and selfish performance I have ever seen… his excuse [to me] was, the wicket was too slow to play shots but that was a stupid thing to say after England had scored 334. The entire party is upset about it. Our national pride is too important to be thrown away like this.”

However, many missed the point that it was not Gavaskar alone who was crawling in the entire Indian innings. If you look at the scorecard, 3 batsmen along with Gavaskar played with strike rate in 20s.

Only Viswanath had some decent strike rate. But only Gavaskar took all the criticism because of him being India’s best batsman. Believe it or not, even one spectator pleaded to Brijesh Patel to score quickly in one of the several pitch invasion during the match.

Several years later Gavaskar admitted that this was the worst innings of his life:

“It is something that even now I really can’t explain. If you looked back at it, you’d actually see in the first few overs some shots which I’d never want to see again – cross-batted slogs. I wasn’t overjoyed at the prospect of playing non-cricketing shots and I just got into a mental rut after that. There were occasions I felt like moving away from the stumps so I would be bowled. This was the only way to get away from the mental agony from which I was suffering. I couldn’t force the pace and I couldn’t get out.”

Gavaskar also revealed that he was caught behind off the second ball of the innings. “I keep tossing and turning around about it now. I asked myself, ‘Why the hell did I not walk the second ball? I was caught behind and would have been out for zero. But nobody appealed. I had flashed outside the off stump… it was just such a faint nick that nobody appealed. The bowler went ‘ah’ and the keeper, Alan Knott, who was standing some way back, did the same. There was no real appeal, no proper ‘how’s that?’ That little moment of hesitation got me so much flak all these years.”

Gavaskar compensated in the next match by scoring 65* off 86 (strike rate of 75.58) against the associate country East Africa, helped the team to win the match by 10 wickets. Gavaskar’s lone century in ODIs came in his last World  Cup (1987) when he smashed 100 off just 85 balls against New Zealand at Nagpur.

India against England (target 335) R BF 4s 6s SR
S Gavaskar not out 36  174  1  0 20.69
E Solkar c Lever b Arnold 8  34  0  0 23.53
A Gaekwad c †Knott b Lever 22  46  2  0 47.83
G Viswanath c Fletcher b Old 37  59  5  0 62.71
B Patel not out 16  57  0  0 28.07
Extras (lb 3, w 1, nb 9) 13
Total 3 wickets   (60.0 overs @ 2.20 rpo) 132

BBC tweaks timeline, sets 2024 as the year when Rahul Gandhi will finally come of age and unseat Modi

Nirwa Mehta
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BBC tweaks timeline, sets 2024 as the year when Rahul Gandhi will finally come of age and unseat Modi

Even as India awaits the election results which will be declared on May 23, Congress-friendly media has already started building up a case that Rahul Gandhi should not be dismissed as yet. And while Indian media continues to write editorials and opinion pieces that Rahul Gandhi has come of age (yet again), the BBC has gone a step ahead and tweaked the timeline.

In a profile posted by BBC yesterday, the publication too echoed that Rahul Gandhi should not be written off just as yet. That he still continues to be a formidable force, except 2024 may be a realistic goal for him to eye. After all, his great grandfather, grandmother, father – all have been the prime ministers of India so it is only natural for him to take over the ‘Family Business’.

BBC mentions how Rahul Gandhi has grown as a politician who was described as clueless by the media to how he has recovered the lost ground as a politician. “His social media campaigns have become smarter, he’s been arguing convincingly about the government’s controversial currency ban, a lack of employment opportunities, growing intolerance in the country and the slowdown in the economy. He’s also consistently demanded answers from the government on alleged corruption in the Rafale fighter jet deal,” says the BBC.

Congress social media team has been caught spreading morphed images, fake news and has had gaffes galore in the past few years.

The BBC says Rahul Gandhi has been ‘arguing convincingly’ about demonetisation. The Ahmedabad District Co-operative Bank had filed a criminal defamation case against Rahul Gandhi for alleging that the bank was involved in a Rs 750 crore scam right after demonetisation. Congress was also found spreading half-truths and whole lies on demonetisation a year after it was implemented. Guess lying about the demonetisation is considered ‘arguing convincingly’ on the same.

The BBC then talks about ‘lack of employment opportunities, growing intolerance and the slowdown of the economy’ as points on which Rahul Gandhi argues convincingly on. Sorry to break it to you, Beeb, a recent report showed a 38% rise in job creation in the IT sector in last one year. Around 15 million jobs have been created per year by the Modi government. Wonder what ‘lack of employment opportunity and slowdown of economy’ argument of Rahul is convincing. With regard to ‘rising intolerance’, that is something we agree upon. Recently, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee jailed a person because she shared a meme, mocking Mamata. In fact, even Congress hooligans were recently caught vandalising movie theatres. Unfortunately, these incidents don’t make it to Rahul Gandhi’s arguments on ‘rising intolerance’.

Moving on to our favourite. The BBC says that Rahul Gandhi has “consistently demanded answers from the government on alleged corruption in the Rafale fighter jet deal.” The BBC does not put out a disclaimer that these allegations have been categorically refuted multiple times and that Rahul Gandhi is inconsistent with the figures and is essentially lying through this teeth about the ‘Rafale scam’. Wonder if BBC will include this shoddy profile as well in the dubious database of websites which they accuse of spreading fake news.

BBC credits Rahul Gandhi for bringing his sister, the ‘charismatic and popular’ Priyanka Gandhi into politics to revive the party in Uttar Pradesh. In a major blow to Jyotiraditya Scindia, BBC forgets to mention that Priyanka is in charge of Eastern UP and Scindia in Western UP. Secondly, the same ‘charismatic and popular’ Priyanka Gandhi is essentially making self-goals for Congress, embarrassing the party more than her brother did. And that people are leaving the party because they Priyanka reportedly humiliated them? No? It’s okay, Beeb, we get it.

The BBC mentions that how in 2004 Rahul ‘plunged’ into politics by standing from Amethi, a seat his father ‘had once held’. BBC cleverly forgets to mention that Amethi seat has been won by a member of Nehr-Gandhi family since the 1980s. His uncle Sanjay Gandhi, father Rajiv Gandhi and mother Sonia Gandhi have all fought and won from Amethi. That before Rahul contested from Amethi, Sonia Gandhi was holding on to the seat.

And now, the BBC has gone a step ahead to revise the timeline to when can we write off Rahul Gandhi as a credible politician. The BBC has given five more years to Rahul Gandhi to ‘come of age’, again.

In what could only be termed as poetic justice, the BBC seems to have bend its knee to the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty.

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