A viral video reportedly showing Chhattisgarh minister Dayaldas Baghel performing a puja of an electronic voting machine (EVM) inside a booth of ‘Nawagarh’ constituency when polling for the state was in full swing on November. The returning officer of Nawagarh, , has asked an explanation from the BJP leader.
The video clip showed Baghel, the minister for cooperatives and MLA from Nawagarh in Bemetara district, praying and offering a coconut inside the polling booth, apparently before the voting began.
After the video went viral and was reported by the local media, the returning officer issued a notice to Baghel, seeking an explanation within 24 hours, Bemetara Collector and District Election Officer Mahadev Kawre, a news agency reported.
Congress spokesperson Shailesh Nitin Trivedi attacked the ruling BJP and stated that “In the democracy, a leader has to worship the common people and the voters, not EVMs. The BJP and its ministers did not work for the people for 15 years and offering prayers to EVMs on the polling day will not work for them”.
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