TNI BUREAU: BJP Rajya Sabha MP Sujeet Kumar on Thursday strongly criticised the opposition for spreading what he described as “false and misleading allegations” regarding alleged EVM tampering during the Nuapada by-election. He claimed that the truth had now come before the public after the booth-wise results were released.

According to Kumar, an “AI-generated fake image” was circulated in the media alleging that at booth number 250 in Nuapada, votes cast for any party were being diverted to the BJP’s lotus symbol. The opposition had accused both the BJP and the Election Commission of wrongdoing.

However, the booth-wise results from counting day tell a different story, Kumar said. Congress secured 277 votes from the same booth, while the BJP received 267 votes and the BJD 63 votes.

“If EVM tampering was done and all votes were going to the lotus symbol, how did Congress get more votes than the BJP from that booth?” Kumar asked, accusing opposition parties of attempting to “mislead the people of Odisha with fabricated claims”.

He said that while elections naturally bring victory and defeat, the BJP has always respected public mandate. “We have lost many elections across several states in recent times. But we have never blamed others. We analyse, reflect, and move forward,” he said.

Kumar added that refusing to accept the public’s verdict amounts to “insulting the people of Nuapada and Odisha”, asserting that public trust cannot be shaken by “lies and propaganda”.

“Truth will always prevail,” he said.