Leader of the NCP (SP), Supriya Sule, expressed grave worries on Monday regarding the safety of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in Baramati, where she is running for a seat in the Lok Sabha against Sunetra Pawar, the cousin and wife of Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar. Supriya Sule said on social media that the security cameras at the warehouse where the electronic voting machines were kept after the vote were turned off for forty-five minutes earlier today.
After the polling of Baramati Lok Sabha Constituency, the CCTV in a godown where the EVMs are kept was switched off for 45 minutes this morning. It is suspicious that the CCTV is switched off where a very important thing like EVM is kept. Also, this is a big lapse,” Sule posted on X (formerly Twitter).
बारामती लोकसभा मतदारसंघाचे मतदान पार पडल्यानंतर त्या इव्हिएम ज्या गोडावूनमध्ये ठेवल्या आहेत, तेथील सीसीटिव्ही आज सकाळी ४५ मिनिटे बंद पडले होते. इव्हिएमसारखी अतिशय महत्वाची गोष्ट जेथे ठेवलेली आहे, तेथील सीसीटिव्ही बंद पडणे ही बाब संशयास्पद आहे. तसेच हा खुप मोठा हलगर्जीपणा देखील… pic.twitter.com/8HmqR2icHn
— Supriya Sule (@supriya_sule) May 13, 2024
When the election representatives contacted the concerned authorities and administration, no satisfactory answers were received. Apart from this, the technician is also not available at the said place,” she added.
Supriya Sule alleged that her election representatives were not being allowed to inspect the status of the EVMs stored there.
“The Election Commission should immediately take notice of this and disclose the reasons why the CCTV was closed. Apart from this, appropriate action should be taken against those responsible for the incident,” the NCP leader of Sharad Pawar faction said.
Laxmikant Khabiya, the election representative of Baramati candidate Supriya Sule, alleged that the CCTVs were turned off between 10.30 am and 11.15 am at the Food Corporation of India’s godown, where the EVMs from the constituency are stored.
“Election officials told us that the CCTVs will function round the clock. Our party representatives are deployed to keep a watch. On Monday, we received an alert that the CCTVs were turned off for nearly 45 minutes. We tried to raise the issue with the police. The administration has come up with a clarification, but we will submit an application to the returning officer of Baramati,” Khabiya said.