The Congress party has once again demanded holding of elections for ballot papers.
Indian Overseas Congress President Sam Pitroda on Thursday said that ballot papers should be used in the Lok Sabha elections. He said the time for debating whether EVMs can be hacked is over or not.
Addressing a press conference, Pitroda said the Election Commission has not responded to the questions raised about EVMs and VVPATs.
He said that now Lok Sabha elections are going to be held soon, so the time to discuss those issues is gone. He said that there is a huge lack of trust among the people regarding the elections.
Sam Pitroda said, “There is a huge lack of trust. It doesn’t matter what the Election Commission of India thinks. What matters is what the people of India think… According to me, the only option left today is paper ballot.”
However, Pitroda later said that he was speaking not on behalf of the Congress but as a “concerned citizen”.
Further, the Congress claimed that the Election Commission (EC) refused to meet the delegation of constituent parties of the opposition alliance ‘Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance’ (India). The party said the Election Commission’s refusal to meet is an ‘injustice’ which attacks the foundation of democracy.
Party general secretary Jairam Ramesh also said that the opposition parties want to present their views on the issue of VVPAT before the Election Commission. He posted on ‘X’, “January 25 is celebrated every year as National Voters’ Day by the Election Commission of India. But sadly, this independent organization is refusing to meet the delegation of leaders of the parties of ‘India’ alliance. These parties only want to make their point on greater use of VVPATs when voters cast their votes.”
He says, “VVPAT is nothing but a ‘voter-verified paper audit trail’. “The Election Commission’s continued refusal is an injustice that is an attack on the very foundation of our democracy.” Ramesh said a voter has the right to verify that his or her vote has been recorded accurately. Ramesh had written a letter to the Election Commission on December 30 last year requesting that a delegation from ‘India’ be given a meeting to present its views on the VVPAT slips.