New Delhi, Oct 9 (IANS) : Faheem Nazir Shah, a Kashmiri who claimed to have been assaulted during a protest by Congress leaders in Connaught Place in the national Capital, said on Friday that the EVMs were brought in by Congress in 1989 and it won elections with a heavy margin in 2004; then why are they blaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Election Commission, and the EVMs now?
“You (Congress) are the one who introduced EVMs in 1989; Congress did it; Rajiv Gandhi introduced the EVM,” he said.
Shah added, “Elections were held across India through EVMs in 2004, and you won by a huge margin. In 2009, elections were again held through EVMs, and you won by a huge margin.”
“But since Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been winning continuously since 2014, you now allege that there is vote theft through EVMs and that the Chief Election Commissioner of India, Gyanesh Kumar, is a thief and is working for the BJP,” he added.
Talking about the alleged assault that took place on Thursday, he said that he got hurt in the eye and his arm.
“I am grateful to Delhi Police, Connaught Place Police, the SHO, and his entire team. I came here with a complaint. They took timely action and registered my FIR,” he said.
On Thursday, the Kashmiri youth had arrived at the protest site and was allegedly roughed up by a group of protesters after allegedly raising slogans in support of PM Modi.
He said, “My poster read, ‘I am a fan of the world’s biggest Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. Rahul Gandhi Prime Minister se maafi mango! The CJP and Rahul Gandhi are blaming the EVM and the Prime Minister of India, the Election Commission of India, and the BJP. They are claiming ‘Vote chori’ through EVMs and SIR.”
“That is what my poster read,“ Shah said.
The protesters, however, alleged that he had verbally abused the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi.
A video of the incident circulating on social media shows the man being surrounded, pushed, dragged and repeatedly hit by people in the crowd.
The incident triggered a political backlash, with BJP leaders condemning the alleged assault.
BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari shared the video on social media and accused Congress workers of displaying an “anarchist mindset”.
