Need to buy paper trail machines now: CEC to Govt

Citing “prevailing environment”, Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi has urged the government to speed up release of funds for timely procurement of paper trail machines so that these can be deployed in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

In a fresh letter to Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, he has also said the Supreme Court, while hearing a contempt petition, has directed the poll panel to bring on record the approximate time within which the entire system of voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) can be introduced.

Though the CEC did not elaborate what he meant by “prevailing environment”, he was apparently referring to Opposition parties questioning the reliability of the EVMs and pressing for the deployment of more VVPATs, which dispel doubts about votes cast using EVMs. The Bahujan Samaj Party, the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress had attacked the EC for allegedly using “tampered” EVMs.