Hazare slams Kejriwal, says going back to ballot paper a retrograde step
Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare has hit out at his former protege Arvind Kejriwal over his demand for reverting to ballot papers for municipal polls in Delhi, saying it would be a retrograde step.
Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare on Wednesday hit out at his former protege and Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal over his demand for reverting to ballot papers for municipal polls in Delhi, saying it would be a retrograde step.
“In times when great technological advancement is taking place, returning to ballot papers will be a retrograde step,” he told a TV news channel at his village, Ralegan Siddhi in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district.
“EVMs should not be done away with. Those who are voicing doubt over the machines are trying to take us back in time,” he said, adding that voting through ballot papers was a time consuming process.
Hazare and Kejriwal, who were together during the stir for anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal, parted ways after the latter chose to take a plunge into politics.
Kejriwal, now the Delhi chief minister, has questioned the reliability of electronic voting machines after his AAP’s defeat in Punjab and Goa elections.
Kejriwal said EVM tampering may have led to the AAP’s poor showing in Punjab, alleging it could be part of a conspiracy to keep the party out of power in the state.
The AAP won just 20 seats in the 117-member assembly in Punjab and drew a blank in Goa, which has a 40-member House.