August 10th 2023.
Kolkata is in the throes of a heated political debate after Trinamool Congress Supremo Mamata Banerjee accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of planning to hack "electronic machines" in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. This allegation has been followed by another TMC leader Sushmita Dev's accusation that the BJP is attempting to control the Election Commission by appointing a Union Cabinet Minister in place of the Chief Justice of India as a member of the selection committee for recommending a Chief Election Commissioner.
In an interview with Free Press Journal, Sushmita said that this move is a "direct attack on the Election Commission's independence". According to her, the Supreme Court had previously said that having a select committee instead of the President of India was a way to make the Election Commission more independent and free from influence. The bill, she said, destroys that.
Couple of days back, Mamata Banerjee said that she had information that the saffron camp is planning to hack the EVMs in the Parliamentary elections next year, a topic which she said would be discussed in the next opposition alliance meeting.
Meanwhile, the BJP has demanded EVM machines with VVPAT support in the upcoming Kolkata Municipal Corporation polls, claiming that the TMC is using "faulty and outdated machines" in the election. It remains to be seen how the situation develops in the coming days.
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