Sharad Pawar questions EC’s role, says democracy is in danger

PUNE: NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday said some people had raised red flags on possibility of “30% vote manipulation” ahead of the recent assembly polls in Maharashtra, and the election outcome prima facie showed there was truth to the claims.
“Before elections, some people made a presentation that it is possible (to increase votes through manipulation), and they also raised a red flag saying it will be done in the elections. It was our shortcoming that we did not pay heed to them,” Pawar said, questioning role of EC.
“We never thought that EC would go to that extent in taking a wrong stand. After the poll results, however, prima facie it appears that the red flags raised by those people held some truth,” he said when asked about opposition’s take on EVM issue.
Pawar was at Pune’s Mahatma Phule Wada to meet 95-year-old social worker Baba Adhav, who is on a hunger strike against the alleged corruption and use of money in the recent elections.
After the meeting, the veteran politician said, “Parliamentary democracy looks in danger, given the current situation. Those in govt have no interest in this.”
“Opposition has been raising the issues in Parliament for the last six days, but not even for a minute has the discussion happened on issues of national interest,” Pawar said.
Despite EC’s repeated assertions denying the possibility of EVM tampering, opposition parties have been alleging manipulation of voting machines in the assembly polls, questioning the spurt in number of votes polled in the last hour of voting. During his interaction with Adhav, Pawar said some people had claimed 30% of votes could be added to increase the vote count.
On Congress’s plan to launch a nationwide movement over the EVM issue, he further said, “The issue was raised in Congress Working Committee’s meeting, where it was suggested that it should be raised by members of the INDIA bloc at national level. A decision on the issue is expected either on Monday or Tuesday.”
Speaking about Adhav’s hunger strike, the veteran politician said, “Adhav’s agitation has given voice to concerns of common people, but he will need support.”