Former Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi has asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to “proactively and aggressively” counter the doubts raised by leaders of various political parties regarding tampering of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM).
Speaking exclusively to The Hindu , Mr. Quraishi says while there can be no doubt about the integrity of the elections being held under the aegis of the ECI, the message should be conveyed to the people, more than the political parties.
“The ECI should communicate it to the people so that there is no doubt among the people. All political parties at one time or another have raised doubts over the EVMs but kept quiet when they won, instead of eating their words. It’s the voter who needs to be conveyed the facts.”
He added that the ECI had also undertaken, before the Supreme Court, that the 2019 general elections would be held using Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines. “That would require two million machines, as of now one million should have been manufactured. It would be good if subsequent elections be held with VVPAT machines,” says Mr. Quraishi, who has authored the book The Undocumented Wonder: The Great Indian Election .
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have questioned the credibility of EVMs after massive losses in the just-concluded Assembly polls in five States. The BJP has dismissed such speculation, although they too had, in the past, raised similar doubts
“When you win, EVMs are right. When you lose, EVMs are wrong. This shows that there are some defects in you [Mayawati],” Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said. “You should gracefully accept the people’s mandate,” he added.
