Can’t Say You Don’t Like EVMs Because…: Omar Abdullah Junks Ally Congress’ Charge

New Delhi: INDIA ally saw another fissure with Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah hitting out at the Congress, saying Electronic Voting Machines(EVM) cannot be blamed for electoral loss.

He said parties should avoid fighting elections if they doubt integrity of the machines only when results don’t meet expectations. “When you get a hundred plus members of Parliament using the same EVMs, and you celebrate that as sort of a victory for your party, you can’t then a few months later turn around and say… we don’t like these EVMs because now the election results aren’t going the way we would like them to,” Abdullah said in an interview to news agency PTI.

He said one has to be “consistent” in questioning the voting method.

When he was told that his remarks echoed the BJP’s counter to the Congress’s EVM charge, Abdullah said, “God forbid… No, it’s just that… what’s right is right.”

The J&K CM also extended support for infrastructure projects like the Central Vista as an example of his independent thinking. “Contrary to what everybody else believes, I think that what’s happening with this Central Vista project in Delhi is a damn good thing. I believe constructing a new Parliament building was an excellent idea. We needed a new Parliament building. The old one had outlived its utility,” he said.

The Congress and some of its allies had blamed EVM voting method for its big losses in Haryana and Maharashtra. The BJP’s X handle then took a sharp jab at its rival, pointing out the technology also delivered a win in Jharkhand and a record victory for Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll.