Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the BJP's victory is a clean sweep against politics of "anarchy and arrogance".
In an apparent dig at the AAP, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi today said the BJP's impressive show in the MCD polls is a "lesson" for those crying foul over EVMs and asked them to respect people's mandate. Minister of State for Minority Affairs Naqvi, without naming any of the opposition parties, also added that the saffron party's victory is a "clean sweep" against politics of "anarchy and arrogance".
"Lesson & message for 'EVM Vilaap Mandli'- Instead of blaming EVM, respect people's mandate & do introspection. "#DelhiMCDpolls-Clean sweep against politics of anarchy, arrogance. Results reflect people's passion for inclusive growth, good-governance," Naqvi tweeted.
The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP has been complaining about the machines ever since Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati alleged large-scale tampering in EVMs soon after assembly election results were announced on March 11. Mr Kejriwal had urged the State Election Commission (SEC) not to use Generation 1 EVMs brought in from Rajasthan during the MCD polls, claiming they were all "clearly" tampered with.
Even after losing the Delhi MCD polls to the BJP today, the AAP said that the results indicate an "EVM wave, not Modi wave" and promised that the campaign against the EVMs will continue.
Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, "EVM tampering is the bitter truth of the country's democracy. One can crack jokes on us initially, but fearing being made fun of, we cannot refrain from speaking the truth."
After losing Rajouri Garden assembly constituency, and the party's poor performance in the Punjab and Goa elections, Mr Kejriwal had blamed the Election Commission for "EVM-tampering" and alleged its only aim appeared to be to bring the BJP to power. "The Commission is pulling out all stops to help the BJP win," he said.
"I am an engineer from IIT... I can tell you 10 ways in which EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines) can be tampered," he said, challenging the Commission which has said that voting machines cannot be gamed, a premise it hopes to prove through a 10-day open-to-the-public hackathon next month in Delhi.