NEW DELHI: Congress MP Manish Tewari on Wednesday suggested that the Election Commission of India (ECI) should consider returning to paper ballots for conducting elections, highlighting the importance of safeguarding democracy.
Tewari said on Wednesday, “All across the world, without exception, even in those countries where EVMs were invented or used even before India, everybody has gone back to paper ballots because democracy is too precious to be left to technology. The Election Commission should very seriously not only consider but take the initiative of taking this country back to paper ballots. Democracy is too precious to be left to technology.”
This statement came after ECI dismissed Congress’s allegations of irregularities in the recent Haryana elections, calling them “baseless, misplaced, and devoid of facts.”
In a letter to the grand old party on Tuesday, the ECI urged them to avoid making unfounded claims post-elections and accused the party of raising “generic” doubts without evidence. ECI warned that such irresponsible allegations could lead to public unrest and chaos, especially during sensitive times such as polling and counting days.
Tewari also questioned the battery life of EVMs, expressing skepticism. He said, “It absolutely defies any law of science that a machine, an EVM, can be in use for a whole day from 8 in the morning till 6 in the evening or from 9 in the morning till 5 in the evening and have 99% battery life once the machine is powered down, it is stored in a strong room and then brought out a couple of days later and the votes are counted.”
Addressing the issue from the Bharatiya Janata Party‘s side, leader Tarun Chugh lambasted the Congress party, referring to it as a “sinking ship” and blamed it for questioning the efficacy of EVMs after electoral losses.
Chugh commented, “Congress is a sinking ship which is thoughtless and policy less…They blame the EVM for their loss (in the election). The Congress party, whenever it wins an election, whether it’s in Karnataka or Telangana at that time, considers EVM and the election commission to be okay…Despite losing so many elections their ego is high.”