Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday called for a return to using ballot papers in elections, alleging that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were being tampered with.
Speaking at the party’s Constitution Day event at Talkatora Stadium in Delhi, Kharge stated, “We don’t want elections through EVMs. We want elections through ballot papers. Just like we carried out the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra,’ we will launch a nationwide campaign for elections using ballot papers.”
हमको EVM से चुनाव नहीं चाहिए। हमें बैलेट पेपर से चुनाव चाहिए।
— Congress (@INCIndia) November 26, 2024
हमने जैसे 'भारत जोड़ो यात्रा' निकाली थी, वैसे ही बैलेट पेपर से चुनाव के लिए एक देशव्यापी अभियान चलाएंगे।
: कांग्रेस अध्यक्ष श्री @kharge
📍 नई दिल्ली pic.twitter.com/4DRacReh6L
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) quickly criticized Kharge’s demand, accusing him of undermining the Constitution and constitutional bodies like the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Supreme Court.
BJP National spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla mocked Kharge, saying that for him, the EVMs and Election Commission functioned properly when Congress won (in places like Jammu and Kashmir, Telangana, Wayanad, Himachal Pradesh, and Jharkhand), but when BJP-led parties win, they blame the system.
Shiv Sena leader Milind Deora also made a pointed remark, saying that for some, EVM now stands for “Excuses for Voting Margins.”
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Earlier, several opposition leaders, including Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, and Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara, had called for the use of ballot papers to address concerns over EVM integrity.
The Supreme Court, meanwhile, dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking to conduct upcoming elections in India using ballot papers instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and PB Varale, while rejecting the petition, remarked, “When you win elections, EVMs are never questioned, but when you lose, they are said to be tampered. When Chandrababu Naidu lost, he claimed EVMs could be tampered. Now, when Jagan Mohan Reddy lost, he raised the same concern.”
