New Delhi: On a day when the BJP-led NDA government was announcing a budget full of sops the top leaders of various opposition parties met here Friday to discuss the issue of alleged tampering of EVMs and develop their future course of action.
Sources said the Congress convened the meeting to discuss a joint strategy on the issue of alleged tampering of electronic voting machines (EVMs) as some parties have questioned their efficacy and demanded the Election Commission to revert to the old system of ballot paper.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, Samajwadi Party’s Ram Gopal Yadav, BPS’s Satish Chandra Mishra, DMK’s Kanimozhi, Trinamool Congress’ Derek O’Brien, CPI’s D Raja, CPI-M’s TK Rangarajan, RJD’s Manoj Jha, AAP’s Sanjay Singh and Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Jayant Chaudhary, among others, attended the meeting, sources said. Senior Congress leaders like Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mallikarjun Kharge and AK Antony were also present in the meeting.
Various opposition parties have been claiming that only 2-3 countries across the world are using EVMs and the rest have reverted to the ballot paper system following complaints of malfunctioning of the machine.
The Congress, while supporting the demand, has maintained that since the Lok Sabha election is just around the corner, the EC should ensure counting of paper trail in 50 per cent booths across the country to ensure there is no doubt in the minds of the voters.
PTI