EVM a theft machine, make sure you voted the right party: Farooq Abdullah to voters

Srinagar, May 5 (PTI) National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Sunday asked the voters in Kashmir to remain vigilant to the possibility of manipulation of the EVMs when they cast their votes for the Lok Sabha elections.

“It is important for all the voters to know that the EVM is a theft machine. On the polling day, you will go through the process of identification and then your finger will be inked. When you go to the EVM booth, you should check the (LED) lights on it,” he said.

“After you cast the vote, there should be a beep from the machine. If there is no light on the machine, you should come out and ask the (election) staff about it,” Abdullah, who was addressing an election rally in Panzinara on the outskirts of Srinagar city, added. The former chief minister was campaigning for party candidate Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, who is contesting the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat, going to polls on May 13. “After you cast the vote, there should be a beep from the machine. If there is no light on the machine, you should come out and ask the (election) staff about it,” Abdullah, who was addressing an election rally in Panzinara on the outskirts of Srinagar city, added. The former chief minister was campaigning for party candidate Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, who is contesting the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat, going to polls on May 13.

Abdullah urged the voters to ensure that the VVPAT slips have the same election symbol printed on them as the one they voted for. “After you cast your vote, there will be a (VVPAT) slip. You should check whether the symbol on the slip is the same as the one you have voted for,” he said. Abdullah urged the party leaders to ensure that they appoint “scrupulously honest” people as polling agents for the elections.

The NC president alleged the ruling BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had stooped to communal scaremongering for electoral gains.

“He (Modi) is trying to scare the Hindus by telling them that if they have two houses, they (the opposition) will snatch one and give it to Muslims. Then they scare the Hindu women, telling them that their mangalsutra will be snatched and sold. The proceeds of the sale will be given to Muslims,” he said.

“They (the BJP) do not know that no one is benevolent to Muslims. It is the God who gives or stops sustenance,” he asserted. Abdullah said the current elections were not about development but about saving the country. “Today the fight is not about roads and electricity. The fight is to save the country. Because if the nation is saved, we too will be safe,” he said.