E-Paper
Congress urges PM Modi to adopt paper ballot voting, cites ‘best friend’ Trump's remark
KC Venugopal alleged that the BJP's ‘attitude’ on the party's concerns only confirms its suspicion about electoral ‘malpractices’
The Congress on Saturday cited US President Donald Trump's recent remarks on elections and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to return to the paper ballot voting system.
During a meeting, Trump urged governors to switch to paper ballots and same-day voting and alleged that voting machines are “expensive.”
Congress general secretary, organisation, K C Venugopal cited the party's recent allegations surrounding the Maharashtra assembly election and urged Modi to listen to his “best friend” Trump's message. He also accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of feigning “ignorance” to concerns over electoral integrity and “running away from transparency”.
Also Read | Akhilesh pitches for ballot voting, says EVMs not trustworthy
“Will PM Modi pay heed to his best friend Donald Trump's message on ballot papers and same-day voting, and address the concerns of the whole nation about the integrity of our electoral process?” asked the Congress leader in a post on X.
“I'm sure his best friend will also be appalled at the abnormal increase of lakhs of voters in Maharashtra, or the surgical deletions of opposition votes,” Venugopal added.
The Congress leader alleged that the BJP's “attitude” on the party's concerns only confirms its suspicion about electoral “malpractices”.
Post the poll defeat in Maharashtra, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had called for a “Bharat Jodo” like campaign to raise awareness of the party's concerns and push for the adoption of paper ballots.
Ballot paper demand in Haryana
The Congress' state unit has urged the state election commission to use paper ballots for the upcoming local body elections in seven municipal corporations, four municipal councils, and 21 municipal committees on March 9.
What did SC say?
In November last year, the Supreme Court rejected a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a return to ballot papers and other electoral reforms including the disqualification of candidates accused of electoral corruption.
The top court also questioned the tendency of politicians to question EVMs after losing elections. “When you lose, EVMs are tampered with; when you win, EVMs are fine,” a bench of justices Vikram Nath and PB Varale remarked.
The Election Commission has maintained that EVMs cannot be tampered with. The Centre has also ruled out the possibility of returning to the paper ballot system.
(With agency inputs)
