Trinamool revives anti-EVM campaign

The Trinamool Congress on Monday revived its anti-EVM protest by staging a protest near Gandhi Statue in Parliament House demanding a return to ballot papers, alleging hacking of these machines in favour of BJP.

Holding placards that read 'No to EVMs, Return to Ballot Papers', party MPs shouted slogans against the EVMs and demanded a return to ballot papers.

Trinamool Congress and several other Opposition parties have voiced concerns about tampering of EVMs during the Lok Sabha elections in which BJP returned to power with 303 seats. Ruling coalition NDA has 353 members in a House of 545.

"EVM s can be hacked, everybody knows that. This should stop and that's why we demand a return to ballot papers," Trinamool Congress chief whip in Lok Sabha Kalyan Banerjee told reporters.

Asked whether the party suspect foul play in the recent elections, he said, "if they haven't tampered with EVMs, they (BJP) would not have got these numbers. How did they get it?"

Trinamool Congress leader in Rajya Sabha Derek O'Brien said electoral reforms and the demand for a return to ballot papers are important planks of the party's agenda.

The Opposition parties are likely to raise this issue during a short duration discussion on electoral reforms. A joint notice by 12 opposition parties demanding a discussion on electoral reforms has been submitted.

Opposition sources said they would definitely raise these concerns during all opportunity inside and outside Parliament.

BSP chief Mayawati had recently refused to attend a meeting of party chiefs called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on simultaneous polls, saying she would have attended if it was to discuss EVMs. She was one of the first Opposition leaders to raise concerns about EVMs.

Recently, an organisation 'EVM Virodhi Rashtriya Jan Andolan' wrote an open letter to all opposition parties asking them to take up a campaign to return to ballot papers. It had then claimed that EVM tampering is worse than booth capturing. Ends