Press any button; vote goes to BJP! Saffronisation of EVMs sparks protest

News Network
November 23, 2017

Meerut, Nov 23: Even as voting is underway in the first phase of Uttar Pradesh Municipal elections, several complaints have surfaced in Meerut about Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs)  voting only for the BJP. 

Political commentators have termed the continued EVM tampering as saffronisation machines. In several recent polls across India EVM tampering in favour of BJP had come to light. 

This time, the tampering triggered flash protests. Voters at a polling booth in Meerut erupted in loud protests after one of them discovered that an EVM was recording votes only for BJP, irrespective of the button that was being pressed. 

The officials immediately replaced the tampered EVM to cover up the issue claiming it was just a "malfunction". However, non-BJP political parties believe that machines have been deliberately tampered with.

A video of a voter trying unsuccessfully to cast his vote for the candidate of his choice turned up online soon, leaving officials scrambling to solve the problem. In the video, the voter, Tasleem Ahmad, can be seen trying to vote for BSP.

"I voted for the BSP candidate. I am still holding the pressed button. The machine has recorded my vote as having gone to BJP. I have been waiting here for an hour, but no solution has been provided so far," Ahmad can be heard saying in the video.

An EVM, after recording a vote, is immediately locked, so that the voter can't choose a different option. The machine is unlocked only for the next voter. On hearing of the matter, BSP supporters and members of other parties descended on the polling booth and created a commotion, after which senior officials arrived.

Yogesh Verma, formed BSP MLA, said, "The area in which this problem occurred is dominated by the minority community, and we have a strong presence here. Although officials immediately replaced the machine, it is really disturbing to note that all votes were going to BJP."

It could be recalled here that after the UP assembly polls in March this year, wherein BJP got an unprecedented mandate of 325 seats out of 403, opposition parties levelled serious charges of EVM tampering, so much so that Election Commission had to eventually defend the machines.

Problems with EVMs were reported from Agra as well. At booth no. 69 in Gautam Nagar, voters alleged whichever button was being pressed, the vote was going to BJP. Voters at several polling booths found the machines for recording votes for the mayor's post were not working, after which the machines had to be repaired. Voting was delayed by more than 30 minutes.

Comments

FairMan
 - 
Saturday, 25 Nov 2017

Starting from - Modi coming to power is only through EVM 

There is no two voice only one, that is EVM.   Public come to protest against modi and his party and dismiss all elections after modi coming illegally to power.  Even bogi also 100% coming only by EVM.  The so coalled opposition parties all are interested only in money.

 

PUBLIC GET UP,  & PROTEST AGAINST ANTI NATIONALS  AND THROUGH OUT THESE PEOPLE TO ARABIAN SEA.

Rashid
 - 
Friday, 24 Nov 2017

Until now wherever malfunction of EVM reported , it shows as voted for BJP , do we mean 'BJP syndrome' infected to all these machines....

Wellwisher
 - 
Thursday, 23 Nov 2017

For a fare and clear mandate we at Karnataka demand Ballot system.  Else our state will no where.

 

The desh drohi groups well aware Kannadigas never suppor any criminal groups. So to get power

 

They will do the same trick with EVM machines. 

Still we have time to oppose and boycot EVM.

 

 

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News Network
November 10,2024

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The media office in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli regime has been waging a genocidal war since last October, says as many as 188 Palestinian journalists have been killed since the onset of the brutal military onslaught.

The office provided the figure on Saturday, naming four journalists as the most recent victims of the onslaught.

It identified the foursome as Zahraa Mohammad Abu Sukheil, Ahmad Mohammad Abu Sukheil, Mustafa Khadr Bahar, and Abdel Rahman Khadr Bahar.

The office said it “strongly condemns the targeting, killing, and assassination of Palestinian journalists by the Israeli occupation and holds it fully responsible for committing this heinous crime.”

“We call on the international community, international organizations, and those involved in journalistic work worldwide to take action against the occupation, pursue it in international courts for its ongoing crimes, and pressure it to halt the genocide and the targeted killings of Palestinian journalists,” it said.

Earlier in the day, the office said the Israeli regime had bombed the tents sheltering journalists and displaced persons at the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Hospital in the city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza for the ninth consecutive time.

The atrocity that claimed the lives of two people and injured 26 others came as part of “the genocidal crimes committed by the Israeli occupation army against hospitals, civilians, and displaced persons,” it said.

The media office held the regime and the United States, its biggest ally, as well as other countries aiding the genocide fully responsible for such systematic crimes.

At least 43,552 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and 102,765 others wounded since the launch of the war that followed a retaliatory operation by Gaza’s resistance groups.

The fatalities include 44 people, who were killed across the coastal sliver, in the most recent phase of the military onslaught.

As many as 24 of the victims were killed in the northern part of the territory, where the regime has markedly intensified its deadly attacks for weeks.

They included an eight-year-old child and a five-year-old one, who lost their lives after Israeli warplanes targeted a group of minors filling up jerry cans with water alongside their mother at the Jabalia Refugee camp.

Gaza’s heath ministry, meanwhile, said a number of victims remained under the rubble and in the streets following Israeli airstrikes, saying ambulances and civil defense teams could not reach them due to the sheer extent of the destruction caused by the raids and obstruction caused by the regime.

Also on Saturday, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, a United Nations-backed assessment, warned that famine was looming in northern Gaza amid escalated Israeli aggression and the regime’s near-total siege of the targeted areas.

The alert from the Famine Review Committee warned of "an imminent and substantial likelihood of famine occurring, due to the rapidly deteriorating situation in the Gaza Strip."

On October 17, the body projected that the number of people in Gaza facing "catastrophic" food insecurity between November and April 2025 would reach 345,000, or 16 percent of the population.

The IPC report classified that figure as Phase 5 -- a situation when "starvation, death, destitution, and extremely critical acute malnutrition levels are evident."

The Israeli military, however, questioned the report's credibility.

"To date, all assessments by the IPC have proven incorrect and inconsistent with the situation on the ground," the army said in a statement, denouncing "partial, biased data and superficial sources with vested interests."

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News Network
November 10,2024

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Mangaluru: A heart-wrenching tragedy unfolded in the quiet Bellayuru village on the outskirts of Mangaluru as a man’s life ended on a railway track following an apparent double murder. Authorities from the Mulki police station identified the man as Karthik Bhat, 32, whose lifeless body was discovered on the tracks with his head positioned on the rail, indicating a tragic suicide.

Nearby, police recovered keys to a scooter and a house, which eventually led them to uncover a series of chilling events. Following the trail, officers located Bhat’s scooter parked near Mahammayi Temple. Inside the vehicle, they found documents confirming his identity, including an RC, insurance papers, and his driving license.

Their search continued to Bhat's home in Pakshikere, Kemral village, where they discovered a locked room. With the keys retrieved from the tracks, police unlocked the door, only to be confronted by a horrifying sight. The bodies of Priyanka (28) and her young son Hriday (4) lay in a pool of blood, pointing to a brutal murder that occurred just hours before Bhat’s suicide.

Initial investigations suggest Bhat, beleaguered by ongoing family disputes, committed the murders of his wife and son on the evening of November 8 before tragically ending his own life. A death note found in his diary hinted at his mental state and tragic intentions.

Priyanka’s family, residing in Shivamogga, was informed of the incident. The couple, married for six years, now leaves behind grieving relatives and unanswered questions. Police have initiated formal proceedings, collecting statements from family members as they continue their investigation into the tragic sequence of events.

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News Network
November 17,2024

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An Israeli airstrike on the office of Syria’s Baath party in Lebanon’s capital Beirut has killed the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah's Media Relations Officer, Mohammad Afif, reports say.

Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported that the Israeli raid struck the Ba'ath party’s building in central Beirut district of Ras Al-Naba'a on Sunday, adding that the strike was an attempt to assassinate the leader of the resistance media front.

According to Baath Secretary-General Ali Hijazi, Afif was having a meeting in the Baath Party headquarters when Israel carried out the attack.

"Afif did not fight with weapons and did not lead a military unit in Hezbollah. Rather, he led a media unit," he said.

Reuters, Sky News, Al Jazeera and a number of Henrew-language media reported that Afif was killed in the Israeli strike.

However, Hezbollah has not yet confirmed Afif’s death or whether he was present at the site or not.

Earlier, the Lebanese Health Ministry said at least one person was killed and three others injured after an Israeli strike targeted a central district in Beirut.

Lebanon's al-Mayadeen television network reported that five people were killed in the attack.

The latest development came after Afif said Hezbollah was behind the Caesarea operation and targeting Netanyahu’s home during a speech at the Ghobeiry area in the southern suburbs of Beirut on October 22.

This was the second assassination attempt on Afif in the last two months, after he survived an attack on the Hezbollah media relations office several weeks ago.

Israel launched a ground assault and massive air campaign against Lebanon in late September after a year of exchanging fire across the Lebanese border in parallel with the Gaza war.

At least 3,287 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon over the past year, with the vast majority in the past seven weeks. Another 14,222 have been wounded, mostly women and children.

In response to the ongoing aggression, the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah has been staging hundreds of retaliatory strikes against the occupied Palestinian territories and the Israeli forces trying to advance on southern Lebanese areas.

The movement has vowed to sustain its strikes until the regime ends the escalation.

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