BJP wants paper ballot back

The party has supported his views. “Since many reputed technocrats have questioned the credibility of the software, we want ballot papers to be brought back till the time EC satisfies itself that EVM are tamper proof”, said BJP National Spokesman Prakash Javadekar.

Asked whether the BJP conducted an internal probe on the use of EVMs, he said “No. We have not questioned the results of 2009. But there are large number of complaints with several technocrats saying EVM can be manipulated.”

As for Congress, it has rubbished Advani’s remarks but the party is open to wider discussion into their efficacy.   

The Congress’ Rajya Sabha MP and spokesman Abhishek Singhvi termed Advani’s statement as ‘astonishing’ and ‘unfortunate’. “I hope and trust that the statement does not betray a lack of grace over the loss in the elections,” he said.

He opposed Advani’s suggestion that the EC reintroduce the ballot paper and said that India “should not be taken back to the dark ages” when it was perceived globally as a proud democracy with 1.2 million EVMs and over 700 million voters. Another Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari said that the Congress was satisfied by the finding of the expert committee constituted by the EC to go into the possibility of rigging EVMs. The panel concluded that the machines were foolproof. 

Tiwari, however, said that the party was open to debate on the efficacy of EVMs.