The EVM Virodhi Rashtriya Jan Andolan has called upon political parties and the people to boycott the forthcoming elections in Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Haryana and Sikkim if they are not conducted using ballot papers.
“The movement against EVMs has been spontaneous, and we have witnessed widespread protests and demonstrations across the country. The anti-EVM call issued from Mumbai has aided the process of bringing various anti-EVM forces together. There is an enormous degree of enthusiasm and pressure from across the country, as to what must be done in the coming days. This will be a national movement,” Feroze Mtthiborwala of the Andolan said at a national convention on Wednesday.
Justice Kolse Patil opposed the use of EVMs, saying they spilt India. Freedom fighter G.G. Parikh christened the Andolan as the ‘India movement’. “The Andolan has not to be part-time or temporary, it is being held for a full-time cause,” he said.
The inaugural session saw videos highlighting the hacking of EVMs, dishonest display of votes, and the secret softwares used for hacking. “We are building up a nationwide movement and are thus coordinating with social movements, trade unions, and farmers organisations across the country. We are engaged in a dialogue with various political parties, so as to build a sustained mass movement against the EVMs. The struggle against the EVMs has to be fought and won, as they pose a threat to the very basis of our democracy, our nation. We thus appeal to all the democratic forces to unite and expose the EVM fraud, and actively participate in the historic meeting in Mumbai,” Mr. Parikh said.
An eight-point resolution said the people of India have very little faith in the outcome of the recently-held general elections, which have been clearly stolen by manipulating the EVM-VVPAT systems. The meeting demanded that an investigation be carried out under the guidance of a three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court, headed by the Chief Justice of India.