"He should resign and contest the election again": Eknath Shinde on Rahul Gandhi's remark on EVM

Thane (Maharashtra) [India], June 16 (ANI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde criticized Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's recent statements regarding Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) stating that he should resign and contest the election again if he believes EVMs are unreliable.
Shinde also lamented the Congress MP saying that he had won elections from two constituencies, Raebareli and Wayanad, where the same EVMs were used.
"Rahul Gandhi has won from two places. The same EVM was kept there also, so he should say that the EVM machine was faulty everywhere and he should resign and contest the election again," Shinde slammed Gandhi while addressing the media.
"According to him, where they get good seats, the EVMs are fine, and where they get fewer seats, the EVMs are faulty. Will this happen?," Shinde added.
Earlier in the day, Labelling EVM's as "black box" the Congress MP, Gandhi said that nobody is allowed to scrutinize them.
Shinde further questioned the consistency of the opposition's stance on EVMs.
"Wherever the Maha Vikas Aghadi has won, there the EVM machine has functioned correctly. But wherever they lose, they are (opposition) raising objections on the machine. What kind of behaviour is this?," Shinde added.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi took to social media on Sunday to voice his concerns about the transparency of EVMs.
"EVMs in India are a "black box," and nobody is allowed to scrutinize them. Serious concerns are being raised about transparency in our electoral process. Democracy ends up becoming a sham and prone to fraud when institutions lack accountability," the tweet read.
Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a dig at the opposition INDIA bloc and said that when the results were declared he was concerned if the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) are 'dead or alive' referring to the allegations of EVM rigging.
He alleged that the opposition tried to blame the EVMs and thus weaken the Election Commission of India.
"When results were coming out on June 4, I was busy with work. Phone calls started coming in later. I asked someone, numbers are fine, tell me EVM zinda hai ki mar gaya (Is the EVM dead or alive). Before 4 June, these people (opposition) were constantly blaming EVMs and they were determined to make people lose faith in the democratic process of India. I thought they would take out the funeral procession of the EVM," PM Modi said while addressing the meeting of newly elected MPs of the alliance on Friday in Parliament.
"But by the evening of June 4, unko taale lag gaye. EVM ne unko chup kar diya (EVM silenced them). This is the strength of India's democracy, its fairness. I hope I won't get to hear about EVM for 5 years. But when we go into 2029, perhaps they will again harp about EVM. The country will never forgive them," he added.
According to the Election Commission of India, BJP won 240 seats, much lower than its 2019 tally of 303. The Congress, on the other hand, registered a strong improvement, winning 99 seats in the Lok Sabha election 2024. (ANI)