Congress refrains from pledging return to paper ballots, vows amendments to defection, press freedom laws

The Congress adopted a balanced stance on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), rejecting calls for a return to paper ballots but proposing amendments to election laws to blend EVM efficiency with ballot paper transparency. Amid defections to the BJP, it also pledged to amend the Constitution to automatically disqualify party-switching lawmakers. It further promised to enhance parliamentary impartiality, revive traditions, protect independent journalism, and reform judicial appointments through a National Judicial Commission.

New Delhi: Amidst questions being raised about Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), the Congress on Friday adopted a balanced approach by refraining from advocating for a return to paper ballots but pledging to amend election laws to integrate the "efficiency" of EVMs with the "transparency" of ballot papers.

The party did not accede to the demand for a return to ballot paper, which was raised by a faction of the Opposition, including some within the Congress.

Instead, it advocated for voting via EVMs, with the provision for voters to physically handle and deposit the machine-generated voting slip into the Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) unit. It further stated that the electronic vote tally will be cross-referenced with the VVPAT slip tally. This approach was endorsed by the I.N.D.I.A. bloc through a joint statement last December.

At the receiving end of defections engineered by the BJP, the Congress also promised to amend the Constitution to automatically disqualify a lawmaker who changes his party. "We promise to amend the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution and make defection (leaving the original party on which the MLA or MP was elected) an automatic disqualification of the membership in the Assembly or Parliament," the manifesto read.

At present, several cases under the Tenth Schedule are pending before the Speaker.

In what is seen as a critique of the conduct of parliamentary proceedings, the Congress stated its intention to ensure that presiding officers of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha are "required to sever their connection with any political party, remain neutral, and observe the age-old norm that the ‘Speaker does not speak’."

The Opposition had voiced criticism against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, both of whom have asserted their impartiality. The party additionally pledged that Parliament will convene for 100 days annually and the 'great traditions' of Parliament that prevailed in the past will be revived and scrupulously observed.

The party also promised to defend independent journalism by enacting laws to protect journalists from coercive action by the State, including limits on surveillance powers, seizure of their devices, and disclosure of their sources. It also vowed to enhance the authority of the Press Council of India to address the challenges posed by fake news and paid news, while prohibiting arbitrary internet suspensions. "Backdoor censorship" through laws will be checked, the party said.

The party further pledged to establish a National Judicial Commission, the composition of which will be determined in consultation with the Supreme Court, to oversee the appointment of judges in the higher judiciary. Additionally, the party promised to amend the Constitution to establish two divisions within the Supreme Court: a Constitutional Court and a Court of Appeal.