16 opposition parties urge EC to revert to paper ballots

NEW DELHI: Sixteen opposition parties on Monday petitioned the Election Commission EC ) and demanded that future polls be held with ballot papers.This marks a quantum jump in the incipient push against electronic voting machines (EVMs), which many of these parties alleged were tampered with in the recent Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand elections.“The trust deficit amongst political parties in the electronic devices is too deep-seated and pervasive. It has shattered the faith of the people in the fairness of the electoral process. Democracy is all about trust,” the opposition parties said while submitting a memorandum to the EC.These parties will take the memorandum to President Pranab Mukherjee as well on Wednesday.The opposition bloc was categorical in putting all recent elections under a cloud by citing allegations of tampering of EVMs in five state polls as well in the recent demonstration of voting machines for a bypoll in Ater in Madhya Pradesh which led to reports that all buttons in EVMs led to a vote for BJP.It also cited allegations over EVMs made in various municipal elections in Maharashtra recently. To buttress the demand, they said most countries in North America and Europe, which had introduced EVMs, had reverted to ballot papers.Crucially, the anti-BJP grouping rejected the inquiry report of the EC’s “high powered committee” into the controversy in Ater.Saying it “overlooked many crucial facets of technology and trust”, the petition to the EC said the “summary report raises more issues of debate of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail-linked EVMs rather than solve it.This report is a summary disposal of a public complaint made by Congress to the EC on April 1 without affording any opportunity to INC and other recognised parties which raised the issue.”Just weeks after BSP, AAP, SP and Congress raised questions about voting machines in differing intensity and tone that reflected pique arising from unexpected defeats, the opposition stunned by coming together for a discussion in Parliament ahead of the proceedings on Monday. They decided on visiting the EC and the draft of the memorandum. Congress, Trinamool Congress, NCP, DMK, SP, BSP and the Left among others visited the election watchdog.They also blamed the government for not implementing the Supreme Court’s directions on VVPAT, and for ignoring the CEC’s communications to the PMO in this regard.“We are not blaming the EC. EC feels EVMs are tamper-proof. Even Pentagon is not fool-proof,” Congress leader Kapil Sibal said, adding that ballot papers be used till the EVMs were proved tamper-proof beyond all doubts.