New Delhi. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, in yet another flashpoint with his key ally, rejected the Congress party’s sharp objection to electronic voting machines (EVMs), virtually reiterating the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) stand. Said that it cannot be that when you win the election, you accept the results and when you lose, you blame EVMs.
Omar Abdullah said in an exclusive interview with ‘PTI-Bhasha’ on Friday, “When you get more than a hundred members in Parliament using the same EVM and you celebrate it as a victory for your party, then You cannot turn around after a few months and say… we do not like these EVMs because now the election results are not coming the way we want.”
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When asked that he was speaking like a ‘spokesperson’ of the BJP, Abdullah responded by saying, “God forbid.” He then said, “No, it is like that… …What’s right is right.” Omar said he speaks on principles rather than loyalty to a coalition partner and cited his support for infrastructure projects like Central Vista as an example of his independent thinking.
National Conference leader Abdullah said, “Contrary to everyone’s perception, I think what is happening with the Central Vista project in Delhi is a very good thing. I believe that building a new Parliament building was a great idea. We needed a new Parliament building. The old building has lost its usefulness.” He said that if parties do not have faith in the voting system then they should not contest elections. He said, “If you have a problem with EVMs, your stand on it should remain consistent.”
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He was asked whether he felt that the opposition in general, and the Congress in particular, was taking the wrong path by focusing on EVMs. After the defeat in Haryana and Maharashtra assembly elections, Congress has raised doubts on the reliability of EVMs and election results. It has demanded a return to the ballot system in elections. Abdullah’s comments reveal his party National Conference’s displeasure with the Congress. Both the parties had formed an alliance for the assembly elections held in September in Jammu and Kashmir. National Conference officials have privately said that Congress did not put its full emphasis during the election campaign and the entire burden fell on their party (NC). Nevertheless, his party won 42 seats in the 90-member Jammu and Kashmir Assembly while the Congress got only six seats.
