Akhilesh Yadav’s EVM dig at Election Commission: ‘Even if I win… Don’t trust’

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said on Tuesday he does not trust the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), and even if his party wins all 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh, it will not restore his faith in them.

Addressing the Lok Sabha, the MP from Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh said, “Mr. Speaker, I had no faith in EVMs in the past, I have none in the present, and I will have none in the future.”

“Even if I win all 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh, I still won’t have any faith in EVMs. During the poll campaign, I mentioned that we aim to win the election with EVMs to eventually remove EVMs,” Akhilesh said.

The issue of EVMs will exist as long as they are not removed from the election process and Samajwadi Party will keep highlighting it, he added.

Taking a dig at the Election Commission of India, Akhilesh said that when the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) was enforced, the poll body, along with the government, was lenient with many people.

“I don’t want to get into details, but questions have been raised about the ECI because of the government. If the poll body remains independent, not only will India’s democracy be healthy, but it will also become more powerful across the globe,” he said.

In Uttar Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party formed the government twice and the state has been dealt with discrimination, he said.

“I remember the day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi got down from the IAF’s aircraft on the road, and the chief minister was not sitting with him. That expressway and the ones currently under construction are being funded by the state’s budget. The Centre has not contributed any expressway to the state,” the Kannauj MP added.

Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Modi, Akhilesh Yadav said that many villages in Uttar Pradesh were adopted by him, but situations on the ground have not changed.

“Those villages adopted by the Prime Minister still have dilapidated roads, no water facilities, and people don’t have access to LPG cylinders. The government couldn’t change them and makes fake promises of smart cities,” he said.