Congress slams Omar Abdullah over EVM comment, asks him to 'check his facts'

New Delhi, Dec 16: The Congress party on Monday said that ally Omar Abdullah’s approach to issues concerning the opposition has changed since he became chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.

The remarks came after NC vice president snubbed Congress over leveling allegations of manipulation in EVMs or Electronic Voting Machines, and absolving the party for poor performance at grassroots level.

Manickam Tagore, a senior Congress MP said the recent allegations about EVMs following the Maharashtra election results were made by the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), Shiv Sena (UBT), and Samajwadi Party, NDTV reported.

"It's the Samajwadi Party, NCP, and Shiv Sena UBT that have spoken against EVMs. Please check your facts, CM @OmarAbdullah. The Congress CWC resolution clearly addresses the ECI only. Why this approach to our partners after being CM?" asked Mr Tagore.

Opposition allegations over the functioning of EVMs had re-emerged recently with veteran politician Sharad Pawar raising doubts over the outcome of the Maharashtra polls. Mr Pawar's party - split by his nephew Ajit Pawar, who now heads the 'original' NCP - suffered its worst defeat in the recent polls.

None of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners could win even 10% of the total seats in the elections, which saw the opposition parties allege discrepancies in the voting method.

A resolution by the Congress Working Committee - also shared by Mr Tagore in response to Mr Abdullah - said the poor performance appeared to be a "clear case of targeted manipulation". It also raised questions over the "partisan functioning" of the Election Commission.

Asked about the allegations, Omar Abdullah, whose party is part of the INDIA alliance, said that one must be "consistent" in questioning the machines that are used to hold elections across the country.

"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," Mr Abdullah said.

The NC leader said that political parties that do not trust the voting method should not contest polls.

Mr Abdullah's party and the Congress had contested the October elections in Jammu and Kashmir together.