The Election Commission on Saturday confirmed that a strongroom in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal faced a blackout for over an hour on November 30 after a power cut in the area.
The ECI released a statement and said, “A report obtained from the Bhopal Collector states that CCTV cameras and an LED display installed outside the strongroom did not function from 8.19 am to 9.35 am on November 30 due to the failure of electricity supply. Because of this, the recording could not be done during the given time period. An additional LED screen, an inverter and a generator have been installed in order to ensure continuous electricity supply.”
The strongroom had stored electronic voting machines (EVMs) after the Madhya Pradesh polls and blackout provoked accusations of tampering from opposition parties.
The cameras on the premises are currently in the working condition as confirmed by the poll body.
The statement from the ECI added that two cordons of security personnel have been deployed to prevent any wrongdoing.
“The security force is also maintaining a logbook, and the machines are perfectly safe,” the Election Commission added.
Taking note of the objection raised by the Congress regarding an unlocked door at the Old Jail strongroom, the ECI said that it “has been closed after the complaint”.
Earlier on Saturday, the Congress had moved the Election Commission, raising concerns over the security of the EVMs and demanding adequate measures to ensure free and fair results during counting of votes polled in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh elections.
While a delegation of senior Congress leaders met the poll body and raised concerns over the security of EVMs inside strong rooms, party spokesperson Manish Tewari later held a press conference and said Electronic Voting Machines have been found in hotel rooms in Chhattisgarh. He sought a probe into the issue.
Tewari alleged that the BJP was resorting to malpractice as it feared defeat in these two states.
“Now what were EVMs doing in hotel rooms? After an election is over, an EVM is supposed to be kept in the strong room. Rather than the strong room, it was found in a hotel room. On one hand, the Election Commission says that officers have been suspended, on the other the State Election Commission says EVMs have not been tampered with,” he said.
“The fact that they are in an unauthorised place is evidence of tampering itself,” he asserted.