LUCKNOW/NEW DELHI: Barely two days before the Lok Sabha vote count , a political row erupted on Tuesday over reports of alleged tampering of EVMs.Leaders of 22 opposition parties met the Election Commission in Delhi and raised concerns over reports of alleged tampering of EVMs and asked the poll body to ensure transparency in counting.In a memorandum, the opposition leaders demanded that the verification of VVPAT slips of randomly identified five polling stations in an assembly segment should be done prior to the initiation of counting of votes and not after the completion of last round of counting."If any discrepancy is found anywhere during the VVPAT verification, 100 per cent counting of paper slips of VVPATs of all polling stations of that assembly segment should be done," the memorandum stated.The BJP on its part condemned the opposition parties for questioning the credibility of the EVMs and asked them to accept their defeat with grace if people vote Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government to power again.Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman slammed the opposition for questioning the integrity of the Election Commission and urged them to accept the verdict of the people with dignity.BJP leader and law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also took a swipe at the opposition. "EVMs were fine when its leaders like Mamata Banerjee, N Chandrababu Naidu, Amarinder Singh and Arvind Kejriwal win elections and come to power but they turn unreliable when it appears that Modi will come back to power," he said.Exit polls have projected that the BJP-led NDA will retain power at the Centre.The opposition parties, which are already locked in a battle with the EC over the reliability of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), got fresh ammunition to press for their demand of increasing the tallying the paper trail of votes (VVPATs) with EVM figures after protests broke out in some parts of Uttar Pradesh.The protests erupted after videos of alleged movement and tampering of EVMs went viral on social media, a charge dismissed by the EC as "frivolous" and "unfounded". The EC also said the voting machines used for the seven-phase polls that began on April 11 and ended on May 19 are "absolutely safe" in strong rooms.As the videos of alleged movement and tampering of EVMs went viral on social media, workers of various parties held protests in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur, Chandauli and Dumariyaganj, alleging that EVMs were being "moved around" outside strongrooms.Congress spokesperson Rajeev Shukla said complaints about movement of EVMs are coming from various parts of the country. "In Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana and Punjab, there are complaints of taking out the EVMs from strongrooms from various places. People's suspicion and anger are increasing," he said.The reason that was being given was these were the reserve machines, but even then, the EVMs should be shown to the candidates' representatives, he added.Reacting to the protests, the Congress said the EC should take immediate and effective steps to address the complaints of movement of EVMs from strongrooms in various parts of the country.Amid allegations and complaints that fresh EVMs were being switched with those used in elections ahead of counting of votes on Thursday, the Commission came out with a statement to "emphatically and unambiguously" clarify that all such reports and allegations are "absolutely false, and factually incorrect."It said the visuals available on TV and social media "do not pertain to any EVMs used during the polls".Wading into the controversy over the EVMs, former President Pranab Mukherjee , in a rare intervention after demitting office in 2017, said there can be no room for speculation that challenge the very basis of Indian democracy.He expressed concern over the alleged tampering of voters' verdict, saying the onus of ensuring institutional integrity lies with the Election Commission, which should put all speculation to rest."I am concerned at reports of alleged tampering of voters' verdict. The safety and security of EVMs which are in the custody of ECI is the responsibility of the Commission," Mukherjee, a former Congress stalwart, said in a statement posted on his Twitter handle.As political parties directed their leaders, candidates and workers to remain extra vigilant in all districts where EVMs have been stored, Pranab Mukherjee said people's mandate is sacrosanct and has to be above any iota of reasonable doubt."The onus of ensuring institutional integrity in this case lies with the Election Commission of India. They must do so and put all speculation to rest," he said. Mukherjee on Monday had lauded the EC for conducting the Lok Sabha polls "perfectly".The opposition parties have demanded that if any discrepancy is found during VVPAT verification, 100 per cent counting of the paper slips of VVPATs of all polling stations of that particular assembly segment be done and compared with EVM results."We told the EC that the VVPAT machines should be counted first and if there is any discrepancy, then all of them in that segment should be counted," Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad told reporters.Azad's party colleague Abhishek Singhvi said despite requests to the EC for months, the poll body has now said it will meet on Wednesday to discuss the issue."We are asking the EC to respect the mandate of people. It cannot be manipulated," TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu said.BSP leader Satish Chandra Mishra alleged "there is large-scale bungling relating to EVMs in Uttar Pradesh. We demand deployment of central forces".The opposition parties also raised concerns over the transportation of EVMs ahead of counting of votes and urged the EC to probe the issue.Meanwhile, the Supreme Court today dismissed a PIL seeking 100 per cent matching of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) during the counting of votes on May 23 for Lok Sabha polls.A larger bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi has already dealt with the matter and passed an order, said a vacation bench comprising justices Arun Mishra and M R Shah and refused to entertain the plea filed by a Chennai-based organisation 'Tech 4 All'."The CJI had dealt with this matter. Why are you taking chance before a two-judge vacation bench. We will not list any such case for urgent hearing," it said."We cannot override the CJI's order ... This is nonsense," the bench said.