Mayawati demands return to ballot system, questions EVM credibility
Lucknow, September 28: The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) national president and former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Mayawati has demanded to stop the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in elections and to conduct voting through ballot papers again.
She also alleged that the BJP had rigged the elections to harm the BSP and ensured the victory of Azad Samaj Party chief and current Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Azad.
Referring to the allegations being leveled by opposition parties against the Election Commission in a press conference in Lucknow on Monday, Mayawati said that to restore everyone’s faith in free and fair elections in the country, the BSP strongly demands that the use of EVMs be immediately stopped and the process of voting through ballot papers be restarted in its place.
The BSP chief said that since the first elections in the country, ballot papers were used for voting for nearly five decades, which were opened and counted in front of representatives of all parties at the time of counting. She alleged that the Election Commission has abolished this process and is now using EVMs instead of ballot papers.
Former Chief Minister Mayawati claimed that when the Congress Party was in power at the Centre, the BJP was the first to oppose it. BJP members had claimed that EVMs are machines with electronic chips that can be easily hacked. They even published a book providing evidence of this. They alleged that the Congress Party wins elections by misusing EVMs. Surprisingly, after the BJP won the elections and came to power at the Centre, instead of abolishing EVMs, it has continued the voting and counting process. The BSP has opposed EVMs from the very beginning.
Mayawati alleged that the BJP rigged EVMs to ensure the victory of current Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Azad, despite his lack of support. Now, acting at the behest of this party, it reaches wherever injustice and atrocities, especially against Dalits, occur. By instigating protests and demonstrations, especially by instigating youth, it files cases against them under various sections. This will prevent them from getting government jobs quickly, even until their cases are over. Then, they will be left stranded by the legal hassles of court proceedings. Therefore, Dalits, in particular, should not be misled by them at all.
Mayawati said that the Election Commission should have addressed the misconceptions surrounding the Special Intensive Review (SIR) and other related matters in a timely manner, forcing our party to reflect. The entire opposition is currently furious, but this situation should not have arisen. Furthermore, there are numerous other election-related issues. If those misconceptions had been addressed in a timely manner, the situation would not have become as dire as it is now. The BSP again strongly demands that elections be abolished using EVMs and conducted using ballot papers.
