Chennai: DMK on Friday raised objection to the electronic voting machines being kept under the custody of the district collectors and police before model code of conduct coming into force.
“Until the district collectors come under the direct control of the election commission, the EVMs should be kept the central government offices central forces security. Keeping the EVMs in the custody of the collectors and state police will lead to serious challenge for conducting the election in a free and fair manner by the commission,” DMK organising secretary R. S. Bharathi said in a statement.
He demanded that the EC immediately direct the transfer of EVMs under the custody of the district collectors to the central government offices and checking of the EVMs should be done in the presence of central government officials only.
DMK has raised ante of vulnerability of EVMs to manipulation, obviously by the ruling party.
This element of suspicion over the vulnerability of EVMs has cropped up time and again with almost every other opposition parties raising the issue from time to time in the run-up to every election.
Not long ago, AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa had opposed use of EVMs and even moved Supreme Court challenging its usage in run up to the 2001 assembly polls. Besides, political leaders pointed out even in developed nations and major democracy USA EVMs not been put to use and paper ballots are preferred.
