New Delhi: The Election Commission on Saturday gave a clean chit to Rahul Gandhi on the allegation that he had violated secrecy of voting by entering the enclosure of the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) in one of the polling booths in Amethi on May 7.
"No case is made out," Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath told PTI when asked about complaints that Gandhi had violated secrecy of voting by entering a voting compartment on the day of polling in his constituency.
He said the Commission had received reports from the District Magistrate, who is also the Returning Officer of the constituency, and from others that at the time when Gandhi entered the enclosure around 10.30 am, the EVM was not working as it had developed some fault.
Sampath said they also checked with the photographer of a daily, who had clicked the picture, and polling agents of other candidates as well as micro observers and found that "no polling was going on at that time".
"Gandhi had gone to see the machine which was not working. When he went there, there was no polling going on. No case is made out," he said.
Asked about complaints that Gandhi had entered more than one EVM enclosure, the CEC said as a candidate he had gone to other polling booths. The complaint was about only one EVM compartment, he said.
There was huge controversy when on May 8 newspapers carried pictures of Gandhi examining an EVM and coming out of the polling booth sparking demands that EC should take action against him.
Congress dares BJP to challenge EC clean chit to Rahul in EVM case
Congress has dared the BJP to challenge the clean chit given to Rahul Gandhi by the Election Commission.
"As far as Rahul Gandhi EVM issue is concerned, I don't think in the midst of an election, once the EC has ruled, the BJP has any locus to try to act as an appellate court and tell you why the EC is wrong.
"If they want, they can wait till elections and challenge it in a court of law. I am sure you'll hear nothing about it after the elections," Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi told reporters here while replying to questions on the issue.
Singhvi said Gandhi was inspecting just a "dud, ineffective, non functional" Electronic Voting Machine.
Taking a dig at the BJP for its consistent attacks on the EC, Singhvi said as far as allegations of EC bias and the opposition party is concerned, "it is a given".
"So long as the EC keeps saying that the BJP is good, right and excellent in everything, the Election Commission is not biased. Otherwise according to the BJP the Election Commission is always biased," Singhvi said.
The Congress leader said the BJP does not realise that it "insults" institutions and constitutional authorities, which are the country's pride around the world.
To attack EC as full of faults in every case where there is a disagreement showed the "mentality" of the BJP in respecting the institutions of this country, he said.
He said the BJP was acting in a "desperate manner" as it had realised that "its bubbles are bursting rapidly all over."
