Supreme Court rejects all petitions on 100 % verification of EVM votes via VVPAT slips :::::::: Left sees Red as Rahul Gandhi turns a leader of 'Neo-French Revolution'

Supreme Court rejects the prayers of petitioners to return to ballot paper voting.

Supreme Court rejects all the petitions seeking 100 per cent verification of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) votes with their Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips.

Supreme Court also ruled that there will be option for candidates to get the microcontroller program of EVMs to be checked by a team of engineers after the declaration of results, such a request is to be made by the candidate within seven days after the declaration of results.

Seal and secure Symbol Loading Units

* Court directs to seal and secure all Symbol Loading Units of VVPAT machines, for the symbol loading process to be done on or after May 1, 2024.

* These SLUs should be sealed and secured in containers with the sign of the candidates or their representatives. 

*The SLUs shall be stored in the strong rooms along with the EVMS for a period of at least 45 days after the declaration of the results. SLUs should be dealt in the same manner as EVMs.

Option for candidates to seek verification of EVM programs

*Candidates who secure 2nd and 3rd position in the results can request for the verification of burnt memory semicontroller in 5% of the EVMs per assembly segment in a Parliamentary constituency. Written request to be made within 7 days of the declaration of the results.

* On receiving such a written request, the EVMs shall be checked and verified by a team of engineers from the manfucturer of the EVMs.

* Candidates should identify the EVMs to be checked by serial number of polling booth.

*Candidates and their representatives can be present at the time of the verification.

*After verification, the District Electoral Officer should notify the authenticity of the burnt memory.

*Expenses for the verification process, as notified by the ECI, should be borne by the candidate making the request.

*If the EVMs are found to be tampered with, the cost will be refunded to the candidate.

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma slams Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, says, "PM Modi's prediction will come true. Congress plans to announce Rahul's candidacy from Amethi after Wayanad elections, aiming to deceive the public."

New Delhi 

The Left parties’ fear is that their ouster from power in Kerala, the only state where they now rule,may indeed wipe out communism from Indian politics.

The experience of being wrong can be salutary at times and Rahul Gandhi should not be denied it.Nevertheless, the 'jhatka' revolution that he has promised to remove India's poverty is this.Wealth redistribution and it has been stated in a veiled manner to woo voters.There was no problem till Prime Minister Narendra Modi chipped in and called -- 'spade a spade' asBJP spokesman Gaurav Bhatia has stated.

The opposition parties and the Congress have stated that Modi's utterances in an electionrally was a sample of 'sectarian hyperbole'. However, according to BJP’s chief minister of northeastern Assam state,Himanta Biswa Sarma, the Congress party’s manifesto is “more for the people of Pakistan and less for the people of India".“We have interpreted the Congress manifesto in the right way, he goes a step further.”

Of course  Muslim-majority Pakistan is seen as India's arch-rival and more often it is part of the deliberationsin election campaigns and debates most of the time. 

But what Rahul Gandhi has stated - “When our government comes, we will implement the caste census that we did in Telangana in the entire country. We will do an X-ray of the country and the lower backward classes, Dalits and tribals, the poor general caste people and minorities will come to know their participation in this country"-- also throws up avenues to interpret.

Then the Congress’ promise of addressing growing wealth and income inequality through suitable "policy changes" is also open to 'interpretation and even misinterpretation'. This has opened Pandora's Box. The Congress handsvis-a-vis its commitment to help/appease Muslims in never clean.In 2006, Dr Manmohan Singh rather made unwarranted references to Muslims.

In 2018, Urdu Daily 'Inquilab' had said that Congress minority unit chief Nadeem Javedhad quoted Rahul Gandhi stating in an internal meeting that "the Congress is a Muslim party".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made yet another round of attack

on Congress and said on Tuesday: "The truth is that when the Congress was in power, they wanted to give separate 

reservation to their special vote bank (Muslims)....Whereas the Constitution is completely against this...".

This was in reference to the Congress party's alleged attempts to introduce 'reservation (special privileges)

to Muslims in the state of Andhra Pradesh -- when it was in power in the state in 2004. In Karnataka alsosuch a game was played.

Now, why do we say Rahul Gandhi is a leader of the neo-French Revolution? There are no personal prejudices.

He has himself shown the love to use 'revolutionary' word for him. Now push back and think for a while,if he really is able to win this battle, Rahul will be able to press forward a with a series of 'reforms'from the perspective of his party and the Congress manifesto for the 2024 battle.

Leftists are the most worried lot today. The BJP, which is known for 'pushing' to make India a nation of Hindu hegemony, came to power in Tripura by ousting its communist government in 2018. The BJP also gained immense political support in West Bengal -- where Left is now zero MP and zero-MLA strong party.

In Kerala, another communist stronghold province too, the BJP is working hard to get a deeper penetration and win seats.  

But perhaps the worst for the communists have come in the form of Congress as a party and Rahul Gandhi as a leader.  

The grand old party is turning so much Left that comrade Pinyari Vijayan (Chief Minister of Kerala) had to attack

Rahul Gandhi for contesting from Wayanad and also for the Emergency imposed by Rahul's grandma.

Have the 'urban Naxals' really hijacked the Congress ? The fear is the Left is being squeezed out of Indian polity !

They are already a zero-MLA and zero-MP party in West Bengal and are also out of power from Tripura.

The contest against Rahul Gandhi by CPI thus may not be all symbolic.

Probably when Rahul through his Man Friday, K C Venugopal, requested for Left cooperation, the communists might have thought that would be a one-time special case. 

But after Rahul decided to try his luck again from Wayanad in 2024 -- several communist leaders including the Chief Minister Vijayan and even senior leader Brinda Karat deprecated the Congress decision. 

There has been another area of concern. The downward slippery journey of Indian communists, electorally and in exerting influence on the sociopolitical mindset, has been phenomenal in the last decade.

In the regions where they are losing their grip, the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is gaining. The religious minorities -- Muslims and Christians - who should be happy about atheism losing ground are now more worried about an even 'worse' form of political ideology -- the radical Hinduism is gaining power.

The BJP’s growing support base naturally means dwindling popularity for Kerala’s two traditional political alliances — one led by the Congress party and the other led by leftist parties.

In Tripura, the BJP is in power and in West Bengal, people talk about the Lotus party as an 'alternative outfit'to incumbent Manata Banerjee.

The 'Red scare' is genuine and the communists are realising that in the name of hating Narendra Modi,they should not walk into a deeper hole.

ends

(Nirendra Dev is a New Delhi-based journalist. He is also author of the books 'The Talking Guns: North East India', and 'Modi to Moditva: An Uncensored Truth'. Views expressed are personal)