The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday appeared on the same page as they demanded the Election Commission (EC) to revert to the old practice of paper ballots in future elections instead of electronic voting machines (EVMs).
The Congress, for its part, also made it clear that it was not a taker for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plans for holding Parliamentary and Assembly elections together. It said the BJP’s move of simultaneous elections is “misplaced” and is “incompatible with the Constitution as also impractical”.
After BSP chief Mayawati first raised the issue of alleged EVM tampering following her party’s rout in the UP Assembly polls and the BJP’s resounding success, the Congress, AAP and other political parties too have made similar allegations from time to time. Incidentally, preventing booth capturing and rigging was one of the objectives why EVMs were introduced.
And after suspicions were raised on the EVMs, elections have, of late, being held using the VVPAT paper trails.
While the Congress passed a resolution on the issue at its ongoing 84th plenary session, the AAP issued a statement demanding the ECI to immediately convene an all-party meeting on the matter of “discontinuing” EVMs and conducting the general elections in the country through paper ballot.
The Congress urged the election watchdog to revert to the old practice of paper ballots saying it was necessary as there are misgivings on “misuse” of EVMs to “manipulate the outcome contrary to popular verdict”.
The AAP said that most important stakeholders in elections are political parties and ECI cannot disregard their opinion on how the elections should be conducted. “When majority of political parties do not want elections through EVMs, how can ECI continue with these machinesIJ” said AAP in an official statement.
“Congress, which is the oldest political party in the country, has woken up more than a year after the AAP had first exposed the dangers posed by EVMs to the parliamentary democracy of India. However, it is still a matter of satisfaction that more and more parties are coming forward to safeguard democracy,” said AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj.