Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav demand ballot papers in Lok Sabha polls
TNN | Updated: Jan 23, 2019, 07:04 IST
(Left) Mayawati and (right) Akhilesh Yadav. LUCKNOW: Even as questions were raised on the claims of electronic voting machines (EVM) being hacked and the Election Commission filing a police complaint against a self-proclaimed cyber expert who said that 2014 Lok Sabha polls were rigged and EVMs can be hacked, BSP supremo Mayawati and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday demanded that the upcoming Lok Sabha elections be conducted using paper ballot.
Mayawati said that the claim showed a ‘deeper conspiracy behind use of EVMs’. “There is a need to address this issue immediately to allay the fears of people. BSP was the first party to highlight the misuse of EVMs to affect election outcomes and BJP’s involvement in it. We also filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against it. Subsequently, almost all opposition parties realised the seriousness of the issue and the demand to hold elections via paper ballot picked steam.”
The former UP chief minister said that till the suspicion on EVMs was not laid to rest, it would be better to conduct the next general election using paper ballot.
SP president Akhilesh Yadav said that it is high time that the controversy over misuse of EVMs should be laid to rest once and for all. “Why does a country like Japan, which is very advanced in science and technology, not using EVMs?,” he asked.
Yadav said that doubts raised over EVMs will only weaken the faith of people at large over the democratic set-up of country. “Not only Japan, but most of the technologically advanced countries use ballot papers in elections. There must be some reason why they are not opting for EVMs,” he said.
Mayawati said that the claim showed a ‘deeper conspiracy behind use of EVMs’. “There is a need to address this issue immediately to allay the fears of people. BSP was the first party to highlight the misuse of EVMs to affect election outcomes and BJP’s involvement in it. We also filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against it. Subsequently, almost all opposition parties realised the seriousness of the issue and the demand to hold elections via paper ballot picked steam.”
The former UP chief minister said that till the suspicion on EVMs was not laid to rest, it would be better to conduct the next general election using paper ballot.
SP president Akhilesh Yadav said that it is high time that the controversy over misuse of EVMs should be laid to rest once and for all. “Why does a country like Japan, which is very advanced in science and technology, not using EVMs?,” he asked.
Yadav said that doubts raised over EVMs will only weaken the faith of people at large over the democratic set-up of country. “Not only Japan, but most of the technologically advanced countries use ballot papers in elections. There must be some reason why they are not opting for EVMs,” he said.
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