In debate on poll reforms in Lok Sabha, opposition pitches for return to ballot paper

New Delhi, Dec 9 (PTI) Opposition members in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday made a strong pitch for returning to paper ballot in elections, saying it will restore confidence of the electorate in the electoral process as questions have been raised on the reliability of EVMs.

Participating in the debate on 'Election Reforms', opposition members contended that reverting to the paper ballot system was a fair proposition.

The government has repeatedly ruled out going back to the ballot paper system as EVMs have made election process faster and safer.

Opening the debate, Congress MP Manish Tewari said that when the electors stand in long queues, they must have the confidence that their votes are reaching the right destination.

"I am not saying that EVMs are being manipulated; I am saying that people are concerned that EVMs can be manipulated.

"I say with a lot of responsibility that people's apprehensions can be removed only in two ways -- either 100 per cent counting of VVPATs is done or we go back to paper ballots, which is a better solution," the Congress MP said.

He said many countries, such as Japan and the US, reverted to paper ballot after using EVMs.

"What was the reason; the reason was that, after all, the EVMs are machines and any machine can be manipulated. If everything is fine with EVMs, then why not conduct the upcoming polls in Kerala, Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on paper ballot.

"The EC has to conduct the polls; what difference does it make to them whether it is through EVMs or paper ballots," Tewari said.

He argued that even if it takes 3-4 days for counting, at least the faith in democracy will be restored.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also supported returning to the old paper ballot system, claiming it was more reliable and had people's faith.

YSRCP MP P V Midhun Reddy said that throughout the world, everybody is returning to paper ballots.

"Many countries have rejected EVMs in favour of paper ballot, including the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, Paraguay, Finland and our neighbour Bangladesh," he said.

Anil Desai of Shiv Sena (UBT) claimed the EVM system has many flaws. "We may have made the shift, but the voter needs to know where their vote has gone. And if that clarity is missing, if even the slightest doubt remains in the voters' mind, then what we are practising is not true democracy," he said.

Amra Ram of CPI-M and Abhay Kumar Sinha of RJD echoed similar sentiments.

The electronic voting machine crossed an important milestone in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls -- being used in five parliamentary polls since 2004. PTI GJS ASK UZM NAB RT