Oppn parties unite to ask poll panel to dump EVMs

NEWDELHI: A combined opposition urged the election commission on Monday to revert to the ballot paper voting system in the wake of allegations of EVM tampering in recently held assembly polls.

The commission assured the opposition parties it will soon call an all-party meeting to discuss the issue, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal and the DMK’s T Siva told reporters after the meeting.

An opposition delegation led by Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad met chief election commissioner Naseem Zaidi and other officials on Monday evening to press for replacing EVMs (electronic voting machines) with ballot papers in all future elections. They claimed the faith of the people in EVMs had “eroded” with recent tampering reports. “Our demand is to replace EVMs with paper ballot for free and fair elections,” Azad said.

While Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh will go to the polls in December, elections in Karnataka are scheduled for MarchApril next year. Prior to the 2019 general elections, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh will go to polls in late 2018.

Apart from Congress leaders, Janata Dal (United), Bahujan Samaj Party, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party and DMK representatives were part of the delegation.

“The trust deficit amongst parties in electronic devices is too deep-seated and pervasive,” the opposition parties said in a memorandum to the CEC.