India
Electronic Voting Machines: Move to pass resolution against EVMs fails to pass muster | India News
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NEW DELHI: A move to get the INDIA bloc to pass a vote of no-confidence in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) failed to take off at the meeting of the alliance here on Tuesday.
Sources said a move to get the meeting, held against the backdrop of efforts of Congress leaders to blame the party’s defeat on EVMs, to pass a resolution against the machines was on the table.
However, it failed to muster support. “A resolution for rejection of EVMs will be as good as saying we will not participate in polls so long as we don’t switch back to paper ballots,” a source quoted one of Left leaders as saying.
Rahul Gandhi’s bid to gauge the opinion about the fairness of EVMs by a show of hands did not work with few responding to the idea.
JD(U) boss and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, who is seen as a big beneficiary of EVMs, is also learnt to have argued against reverting to paper ballots. “That is not good. We should ask for application of voter-verifiable paper audit trail instead,” he said.
Jayant Chaudhary of RLD supported him, and refused to join the call for a relapse into the paper ballot era.
Significantly, even RJD, a vocal EVM-sceptic on many occasions, supported the idea that the alliance should restrict itself to demanding expansion of VVPAT to cover all constituencies.
In the event, the resolution passed at the meeting said, “INDIA parties reiterate that there are many doubts on the integrity of the functioning of EVMs. These have been raised by many experts and professionals as well. Our suggestion is simple: Instead of the VVPAT slip falling in the box, it should be handed over to the voter who shall then place it in a separate ballot box after having verified his or her choice. 100% counting of VVPAT slips should then be done. This will restore full confidence of the people in free and fair elections.”
Sources said a move to get the meeting, held against the backdrop of efforts of Congress leaders to blame the party’s defeat on EVMs, to pass a resolution against the machines was on the table.
However, it failed to muster support. “A resolution for rejection of EVMs will be as good as saying we will not participate in polls so long as we don’t switch back to paper ballots,” a source quoted one of Left leaders as saying.
Rahul Gandhi’s bid to gauge the opinion about the fairness of EVMs by a show of hands did not work with few responding to the idea.
JD(U) boss and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, who is seen as a big beneficiary of EVMs, is also learnt to have argued against reverting to paper ballots. “That is not good. We should ask for application of voter-verifiable paper audit trail instead,” he said.
Jayant Chaudhary of RLD supported him, and refused to join the call for a relapse into the paper ballot era.
Significantly, even RJD, a vocal EVM-sceptic on many occasions, supported the idea that the alliance should restrict itself to demanding expansion of VVPAT to cover all constituencies.
In the event, the resolution passed at the meeting said, “INDIA parties reiterate that there are many doubts on the integrity of the functioning of EVMs. These have been raised by many experts and professionals as well. Our suggestion is simple: Instead of the VVPAT slip falling in the box, it should be handed over to the voter who shall then place it in a separate ballot box after having verified his or her choice. 100% counting of VVPAT slips should then be done. This will restore full confidence of the people in free and fair elections.”
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