In a bizarre rant by the JNU freelance protestor-turned-full-time politician Shehla Rashid who jumped into the election fray by forming a political party with a former IAS officer Shah Faesal, today posted a series of tweets on the EVM row and suggested to invoke the United Nations and other International bodies to resolve the purported EVM fraud.
Whether these leaders are in govt at the centre or not, they represent us. They represent a huge part of the democratic mandate. It’s sad to see that our national leaders aren’t taking themselves as seriously as they should. Why don’t we invoke UN and other int’l bodies?
— Shehla Rashid شہلا رشید (@Shehla_Rashid) May 22, 2019
Shehla asserted that the opposition has a lack of clarity and consistency in their allegations of EVM fraud. “If we are alleging EVM fraud, we should boycott the elections till EVMs are abolished. If we are agitated about the movements of EVMs around the strongroom, we should demand repolling,” she tweeted.
Shehla also insisted that MCC violations, EVM fraud and rigging are three separate issues shouldn’t be conflated as each of the above issues calls for a different measure of action. Shehla has accused the opposition of having a flippant attitude towards the allegations made which eventually may harm their cause.
I see only BJP demanding fresh polls in Bengal where they allege booth capturing, etc. Why hasn’t the opposition demanded fresh polls where alleged rigging has occurred? There’s a difference between MCC violation, EVM fraud, and rigging. Each calls for different measures.
— Shehla Rashid شہلا رشید (@Shehla_Rashid) May 22, 2019
Citing that the country’s institutions are at stake, Shehla called upon the opposition leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, Priyanka Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav to have a joint meeting and take a firm decision on the EVM fraud. She contended that the opposition’s protest against the EVM fraud cannot be based on the outcome alone.
“EVM rigging can’t be a part of the election rhetorics. This is not just an elections issue, it is an existential issue that is threatening the health of our democracy. If we believe our own words, all the opposition leaders should unite and fight this out,” Shehla tweeted.
Shehla also slammed the opposition party on being duplicitous on their stance vis-a-vis EVM fraud. She contended that the parties aren’t serious about the allegations as they haven’t called in internal meetings and briefed their party members about the issues, to arrive at one position regarding EVMs. Perhaps, for the first time, Shehla also censured the EVM-hacking conference in London, which was attended by Congress leader Kapil Sibal, calling it a sham that sabotages the genuine concerns regarding EVMs.
After the Exit Polls numbers predicted a landslide victory for the BJP, many opposition parties have resorted to blaming EVM manipulations, rigging and fraud to deflect the humiliation of a defeat and evade accountability of the loss. Despite Election Commission’s repeated assurances that the EVMs are hack-proof, many political leaders have continued raising doubts on their functioning.
