At a time when the AAP government has raised questions regarding “faulty EVMs”, the Delhi government has received an invitation from the State Election Commission (SEC) offering a “peep” into the Election Commission’s museum so it can learn about the “gold standard of electoral management” in the country, and also “learn democracy with Gandhi”. The invitation was published by the Delhi government’s Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Services Department Thursday. It states that the invitation letter was “received from the election officer (SVEEP), Officer of the Chief Electoral Officer”, which invites the “officer/officials/staff” of the Delhi government to the museum, which “has been set up with a view to create an environment and learning place to celebrate our electoral legacy”. The intention, the circular adds, is to get a “peep into (the) gold standard of electoral management” and to “learn democracy with Gandhi”. On Sunday, during polling for the MCD polls, the AAP had alleged electoral malpractice. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had written on Twitter, “Reports from all over Delhi of EVM malfunction, people with voter slips not allowed to vote. What is SEC doing?” He went on to cite French presidential elections, which were also held on Sunday using paper ballot, to argue about the unreliability of EVMs. Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh, while speaking to The Indian Express, reiterated that the party’s demands for “fair elections using VVPAT-enabled EVMs” had fallen on “deaf ears”. The letter to the AAP government by the Delhi Election Commission also describes the “electoral management section”. A Delhi government spokesperson said the invitation was “unlikely” to be linked to concerns raised regarding EVM machines and added that “they were yet to see the letter”. The 'Journey Through Elections' centre at the office of Delhi Chief Electoral Officer at old St. Stephens' College building in Kashmere Gate showcases India's historical electoral journey through artefacts, rare photographs, documents and archival film footage, and was opened to the public by Chief Election Commissioner of India Syed Nasim Zaidi.
