EVM a 'laughter machine' in RS

 A technical snag in a voting machine occurred during the passage of the Constitution (113th) Amendment Bill concerning renaming Orissa as Odisha.

The electronic voting machine recorded the prime minister's vote inthe  "Noes" category when he had actually voted in favour of the Bill. The members burst into laughter when Khan clarified that there was a defect in the system and asked the prime minister to use a paper slip to record his vote.

The problem persisted as various clauses of the Bill were put to division and Khan asked Singh not to press button and instead use the slip.

Amidst laughter, a BJP member asked Home Minister P Chidambaram, “Sir if this is the situation in the Rajya Sabha, what will be the situation in villages where the common man uses the electronic voting machine during elections?” However, the home minister did not respond.

Even as all the 169 members cast their votes in support of the Bill, the screen read only 147 votes.

The votes that were not recorded by the system included those of Communist Party of India-Marxist leaders Sitaram Yechury and Brinda Karat.