New Delhi: The Congress sent yet another letter to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar, requesting for a meeting of the INDIA bloc leaders with him to discuss their demands such as the voters’ self-checking voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) slips and their larger use in the Lok Sabha election.
The party also reminded the CEC that he has not given them time for a meeting despite several requests.
“On December 20, 2023, we again requested for an appointment with the ECI (Election Commission of India) to discuss and provide suggestions on the use of VVPATs based on a resolution passed at a meeting of leaders of INDIA parties held the previous day,” All India Congress Committee general Secretary Jairam Ramesh said in his December 30 letter on behalf of the Congress to the CEC. “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. I once again make a request for an opportunity for a 3-4 member team of the 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 a perfectly reasonable and justifiable request.”Ramesh also reminded Kumar about the opposition submitting a memorandum to the ECI about concerns over electronic voting machines (EVMs) on August 9 and then making a series of requests on August 9, 10, 16, 18 and 23 for an opposition leaders’ meeting with ECI representatives. He said all that came in response was a “generic clarification” on August 23, in which the ECI told the opposition to refer to the standard FAQs on EVMs available on the ECI website. 