Alleged EVM tampering by BJP: Protest by opposition disrupt RS

April 5, 2017

New Delhi, Apr 5: Opposition Congress, SP and BSP today forced a brief adjournment of proceedings in Rajya Sabha over alleged tampering of electronic voting machines (EVM) to favour the ruling BJP.

Opposition members trooped into the Well of the House calling the government a "cheat", forcing Deputy Chairman P J Kurien to adjourn the proceedings for about 7 minutes.

The Government vehemently denied the charge, saying if anybody has a problem, they should go to the Election Commission as Parliament is not the forum to agitate. Congress and SP members gave as many as four notices under rule 267 seeking suspension of business to take up the issue, which the treasury benches vehemently opposed.

Mayawati (BSP) called the ruling party "beiman" (cheat), a comment that led to pandemonium in the House with Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi saying the BSP supremo had "insulted the people of the country" and insulted democracy.

Opposition members protested saying the barb was directed at BJP and not to the people, but the protests from treasury benches led Kurien to say he would expunge such remarks from the records.

Angry exchanges were also witnessed between Naqvi and Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad. Naqvi said the general elections in 2004 and 2009 and the assembly elections in Bihar, Punjab and Delhi where the BJP lost, were all conducted using EVMs and the Congress did not seem to have any objections then.

Azad shot back saying the governments under Congress rule did not tamper with EVMs and its only now that such practices have crept in. When the House met for the day, Digvijaya Singh (Cong) said the testing of EVMs for a by-election in Madhya Pradesh had a few days back had shown manipulations wherein vote would be credited to BJP irrespective of the candidate for whom it has been cast.

He demanded that ballot papers be used for the upcoming by-elections and elections henceforth. HRD Minister Prakash Javedkar countered him saying the Election Commission has made it clear there can be no manipulation of EVMs and if the opposition had any problem they should go to it and not waste Parliament's time.

While Ramgopal Yadav (SP) alleged the EVMs are being deliberately programmed to favour the BJP, Mayawati said mass irregularities were committed in the recently concluded assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.

BSP, she said, has gone to the court against the use of EVMs. She went on to call it "murder of democracy" and demanded the use of ballot papers in future elections.

Her party's Satish Misra said this was a government of EVMs and the ministers protesting were "EVM ministers." The treasury benches protested these remarks as an insult to the people and democracy.

Kurien said he has not allowed notices under rule 267 but allowed those who had given such notices to make brief submission on the issue. "I am not allowing discussion under 267," he said. "If you want discussion, there are other ways."

Stating that "a cheat will be called a cheat", Naresh Agrawal (SP) said chips used in EVMs are being programmed to favour the BJP. Kurien said the Election Commission has clarified that this is not possible.

Leader of the Opposition said free and fair elections are the foundation of Indian democracy but unfortunately for the first time, doubts have been cast over EVMs.

Azad alleged that a "thief" does not rob the entire house but does it only selectively so as not to get caught. And in this case, the EVMs were manipulated in the largest state Uttar Pradesh.

He demanded that by-elections in Madhya Pradesh and the coming assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh be conducted using ballot papers. Naqvi again said the aspersions cast are not against the government but against the Election Commission and the people of the country.

"If victory has a glamour, defeat should have grace," he said, a comment which infuriated the opposition who trooped into the Well of the House shouting slogans.

Kurien asked opposition members to take up the issue with the Election Commission. "This is an issue to be taken up with Election Commission," he said. "Election Commission is to examine if EVM is functioning properly or not. Chair cannot do anything."

As opposition members shouted slogans, he said, "I have to inform you that this is an issue to be taken up with Election Commission not with Chair" before adjourning the proceedings till 1130 hours.

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‘Pay the worker before his sweat dries’: Madras High Court cites Prophet Muhammad’s teaching while ordering settlement of dues

News Network

December 21,2025

Invoking the teachings of Prophet Muhammad—“pay the worker before his sweat dries”—the Madras High Court has directed a municipal corporation to settle long-pending legal dues owed to a former counsel. The court observed that this principle reflects basic fairness and applies equally to labour and service-related disputes.

Justice G. R. Swaminathan made the observation while hearing a petition filed by advocate P. Thirumalai, who claimed that the Madurai City Municipal Corporation failed to pay him legal fees amounting to ₹13.05 lakh. Earlier, the High Court had asked the corporation to consider his representation. However, a later order rejected a major portion of his claim, prompting the present petition.

The court allowed Thirumalai to approach the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and submit a list of cases in which he had appeared. It also directed the corporation to settle the verified fee bills within two months, without interest. The court noted that the petitioner had waited nearly 18 years before challenging the non-payment and that the corporation could not be fully blamed, as the fee bills were not submitted properly.

‘A Matter of Embarrassment’

Justice Swaminathan described it as a “matter of embarrassment” that the State has nearly a dozen Additional Advocate Generals. He observed that appointing too many law officers often leads to unnecessary allocation of work and frequent adjournments, as government counsel claim that senior officers are engaged elsewhere.

He expressed hope that such practices would end at least in the Madurai Bench of the High Court and added that Additional Advocate Generals should “turn a new leaf” from 2026 onwards.

‘Scandalously High Amounts’

While stating that the court cannot examine the exact fees paid to senior counsel or law officers, Justice Swaminathan stressed that good governance requires public funds to be used prudently. He expressed concern over the “scandalously high amounts” paid by government and quasi-government bodies to a few favoured law officers.

In contrast, the court noted that Thirumalai’s total claim was “a pittance” considering the large number of cases he had handled.

Background

Thirumalai served as the standing counsel for the Madurai City Municipal Corporation for more than 14 years, from 1992 to 2006. During this period, he represented the corporation in about 818 cases before the Madurai District Courts.

As the former counsel was unable to hire a clerk to obtain certified copies of judgments in all 818 cases, the court directed the District Legal Services Authority to collect the certified copies within two months. The court further ordered the corporation to bear the cost incurred by the DLSA and deduct that amount from the final settlement payable to the petitioner.

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