With just one day to go for the counting of votes for the assembly election in Bihar, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) made yet another allegation of malpractice on Thursday, saying the Rohtas district administration officials secretly transported Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) into a counting centre.
Party workers and supporters staged a protest in front of the Vajra Griha counting centre of Sasaram assembly constituency, situated on the Takiya Market Committee premises.
RJD has demanded a clarification from Bihar Chief electoral Officer Vinod Singh Gunjiya and the Election Commission of India (ECI). It also demanded that complete CCTV footage of the counting centre be released.
"Why was a truck allegedly loaded with EVMs sneaked into the counting center in Sasaram (Rohtas district) by the district administration without any prior notice or transparency? Why were the truck drivers sent away without being brought to justice? Why was the CCTV camera feed here switched off from 2 PM? Release the full footage. Let the administration tell what is in the truck," the party said in post on X.
The opposition party further warned of massive protests if the authorities concerned didn’t give a clarification and release the CCTV footage.
"Bihar CEO and EC's clarification should come immediately. Otherwise, thousands of people will immediately reach the polling centers to stop vote theft," the party said.
RJD had raised similar allegations earlier, too. On November 9, it claimed that CCTV cameras at a strong room in Nalanda district were switched off for nearly half an hour and illegal movement of vehicles was noticed.
On November 7, the party alleged that the CCTV camera remained off for half an hour in a strong room in Samastipur and suspicious individuals were seen entering the strong room of the Mohiuddin Nagar Assembly constituency.
Bihar went to polls in two phases on November 6 and November 11, with the counting set to take place on November 14.
