New Delhi: A day after HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar countered Opposition's contention over EVMs by citing comparative data on votes polled in the elections, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday rubbished claims about the tampering of machines even as he promised all support to Election Commission's endeavour of maximising the use of voting machines with paper trail.


COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

Prasad, while replying to a debate on Electoral Reforms in the Rajya Sabha, however, did not give a direct response to questions by the Opposition with regard to Rs 3,000 crore sought by the EC for having poll machines with paper trail adequate enough for the entire country.


He slammed parties like the BSP, the SP and the Congress for raising questions over the EVMs against the backdrop of their defeat in the recent Uttar Pradesh polls.


"If you win, then the EVMs are fine, but if you lose, then the EVMs are tampered. Wow. This is a great logic," he said, taunting these parties while replying to a


While hitting out at the Opposition parties, he cited their poll victories earlier and asked why such questions over EVMs were not raised then.


Members of the Congress, the SP, the BSP and the Left staged a walkout, expressing dissatisfaction over the minister's reply.


Prasad said these three parties had not been defeated by the EVMs but had been rejected by the people and they should accept this fact.


The EVMs are "completely safe", he asserted, adding, "I don't buy this logic that EVMs have not done a good job. It is doing a very good job," as per PTI.


While attacking the Congress, the BSP and the SP, he said, "The EC had called an all-party meeting in 2006 but they never raised this issue then."


Targeting the BSP whose chief Mayawati has been in the forefront of raising questions over the EVMs, he said, "Had they (BSP) convinced the people, they would have not lost elections so badly with 19 seats."


On the issue of EVMs with paper trail or Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT), the minister said the EC and even the courts were of the view that machines should be used in a phased manner.


"Surely, in a phased manner the government will provide and will discuss," he said.


VVPATs have already been used on experimental basis in a number of polling booths, including during the recent elections.


Prasad said the EC will take a call on using these machines in the next round of assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, due later this year.


"The EC is the best judge on this issue. The government does not want to intervene. But if any assistance is required the government is available," the minister said.


He said logistical issues are involved in implementing VVPATs across the country in one go.


He said in 2015, 67,000 VVPATs had been ordered but till now only 33,000 have been received.


"In this light, logistics of procurement and availability are equally important. If those are not safe and sound, then they will say wrong machines have been put in place, in which our vote does not get registered. Therefore, the EC and even courts said it should be done in a phased manner," he said.


Due to safety and security reasons, initially two PSUs - Bharat Electronic Ltd and Electronic Corporation India Ltd - were involved in manufacturing these machines. Now, two more have been added, he said.


The Opposition members wanted to know why the government had not released funds to EC for these machines.


Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said, "When the government does not give money, how can it be implemented in a phased manner?"


He added, "Since 2014 elections, you have stopped funds. How machines will be installed? If you cannot ensure security of machines, how can you ensure security of the nation? How can we believe you? They don't want to do. They want to win elections by cheating."


Citing advantages of EVMs, the Law Minister said that use of these machines has reduced the incidents of booth capturing, which used to be widely prevalent earlier in all states.


Responding to a member's query on why use EVMs in India when other countries are not using it, the Minister said India should not be "inferior" and all should have faith in the technology developed by scientists.


EVMs are used in France, Belgium, Mongolia, Bhutan and others, he added.


Yesterday, Javadekar had cited comparative data on votes polled in the elections.


Intervening in a debate on electoral reforms in the Rajya Sabha, he had said the BSP had got 19.77 percent votes during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh and 22.2 percent in 2017 Assembly elections.


The SP got 22.35 percent and 21.8 percent votes in 2014 Lok Sabha elections and the recent Assembly elections, respectively, Javadekar had said.


The Congress had polled 7.5 percent votes during the Lok Sabha elections and 6 percent during the Assembly elections, he had added quoting Election Commission data.


He had further said that the SP which had fought the 2017 elections in alliance with Congress got about 28 percent votes.


"The BJP got 40 percent votes. There is a difference of 12 percent (in comparison to SP-Congress) and when there is a difference of 12 percent, then (the BJP bagged) 325 seats," he had said.


The HRD Minister had gone on to say that in Punjab assembly, where the Congress won the elections defeating SAD-BJP alliance, the Congress got 12 percent more votes than the rival coalition.


 Similarly in the Uttarakhand elections, Javadekar had said that the BJP got 13 percent votes more than the Congress and hence the result was heavily in favour of the saffron party.


"My simple point is that we are all seasoned politicians. We all work hard to reach here (in Parliament). We should not be hiding from the reality. If we hide from the reality, we will go further away from the public," he had said.


The minister had also cited the comparative data of results in the Goa Assembly elections.


The Minister had said further said he had never doubted the EVMs even if the BJP lost elections and believes in mathematics and science.


"We should not take the huge mandate lightly. Disrespect of manadate is disrespect of democracy," Javadekar had said.


(With PTI inputs)