'DISCREPANCIES' IN STRONG ROOMS: APCC moves ECI for probes

GUWAHATI: The APCC (Assam Pradesh Congress Committee) has moved the CEC (Chief Election Commissioner), ECI (Election Commission of India), over "serious discrepancies in respect of safety of strong rooms, EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines), Control Units etc., in different LACs (Legislative Assembly Constituencies) in the recently-concluded Assam Legislative Assembly Election-2021".

In a letter to the CEC, APCC president Ripun Borah said, "I wish to bring to your notice the following very serious discrepancies we have noticed very recently in respect to safety of strong rooms, and EVMs in Dhakuakhana LAC; Moran, Lahowal, Dibrugarh, and Chabua LACs under Dibrugarh district; and the strong room of four LACs of Goalpara district.

"The INC candidate of Dhakuakhana LAC filed a complaint before the Returning Officer of Dhakuakhana LAC recently that the tags/slips bearing the number of Ballot Unit, Control Unit and VVPAT in respect of 144 Mohtali LP School polling station and 180 No. 13 Bamtow LP School polling station were found by our Congress workers near the strong room of Dhakuakhana LAC.

"The tags/slips have been verified with the form no. 17C; and, it is confirmed that the said slips belong to the EVM of the above mentioned two polling stations. It is a very serious matter as to how the tags/slips of EVMs which are supposed to remain attached with the EVMs, ballot units, control units etc. in sealed strong room are found outside the strong room.

"I hereby demand an immediate inquiry into this serious discrepancy and to count the VVPATs of these polling stations instead of the EVMs."

The letter added, "The INC candidates of Moran, Lahowal, Dibrugarh and Chabua LACs of Dibrugarh District filed complaint petition before the Deputy Commissioner/District Election Officer of Dibrugarh District wherein they raised a very serious matter of non-matching of the ID numbers of EVM, Control Unit, Ballot Unit and VVPAT with the form no. 17C.

"For example, the ID numbers of ballot unit, control unit and VVPAT that were given to the contesting candidates before the poll have not matched with the ID numbers at form number 17C which were given by the Presiding Officer at the end of the poll in respect of 13 polling stations of Moran LAC, 10 polling stations of Lahowal LAC, 18 polling stations of Dibrugarh LAC and 2 polling stations of Chabua LAC.

"This is a serious discrepancy and needs your immediate attention. The Returning Officer had so far not clarified the matter to the contesting candidates in response to their application. I urge you to institute immediate inquiries into these discrepancies; and, we demand counting of VVPATs in respect of the polling stations mentioned by the contesting candidates in their application to the Returning Officers.

"Another serious incident of lapse in the security and safety of strong room have come to light in Goalpara district, yesterday. The four contesting candidates of INC in respect of Goalpara East, Goalpara West, Jaleswar and Dudhnoi LAC filed a joint petition before the Deputy Commissioner/District Election Officer of Goalpara District raising serious allegations on the lapse in the safety of the strong room.

"Yesterday, three young boys with electrical devices and gadgets entered the inner parameter of the strong room as well as the control room of the CC Camera on the pretext of some repairing works in the CC unit. Congress workers who were guarding the room from outside noticed their suspicious movement around the strong room. They had entered there without entering and signing the register /logbook. They were even making a number of telephone calls from the location. They refused to show their identity to the Congress workers who were guarding the strong room. On earlier several occasions also, the boys came there on the pretext of repairing the CCTV unit.

"Yesterday, when our Congress party workers guarding the strong room requested them to show the footage on the monitor of the strong room yet they refused. Noticing their suspicious movements, our Congress workers informed the contesting candidates; and, then the candidates arrived at the strong room and informed the matter to the police with an FIR and also informed the matter to the Deputy Commissioner.

"But the Deputy Commissioner or the Police instead of enquiring the matter advised the three boys to file a counter-FIR against the contesting candidates.

"This is quite natural if anybody found in the premises of the strong room with suspicious movement, it is the duty of the contesting candidates or their election agent to bring it to the notice of the administration. Moreover, our contesting candidates have raised doubt on the integrity and credibility of the team/vendor on whom the authority have been given of the responsibility of the day-to-day maintenance of the CC Camera unit.

"Today, the four contesting candidates of INC of Goalpara district have filed another complain petition with the Deputy Commissioner, Goalpara describing the whole incidents and the points of doubt in details.

"In view of this, I request you to institute an immediate inquiry on the allegations of the contesting candidates, the role of Deputy Commissioner, Goalpara, the integrity and credibility of the agency who were given the task of the day-to-day maintenance of the CC Camera unit installed in the strong room of Goalpara district. Further, I request you to allow counting of VVPAT in respect of above named four constituencies of Goalpara district in the interest of maintaining transparency and impartiality in the counting of votes on May 2, 2021."

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