oppn parties Supreme Court Rejects 'Blind' Opposition To EVMs

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Supreme Court Rejects 'Blind' Opposition To EVMs

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2024-04-27 14:13:43

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

It is strange that political parties across the spectrum raise questions about EVMs when they lose. The fact is if EVMs were so easy to manipulate, then the NDA would not have lost a single election after coming to power in 2014. Or for that matter, the UPA would not have lost in 2014. Although the NDA is accused of manipulating EVMs for winning, no critic has ever explained how they have lost so many state elections after 2014.

The Supreme Court has rightly questioned this blind opposition to EVMs without supporting data or evidence. This is after the Election Commission has organized several hackathons to assure people about the safety of the voting machines. A return to paper ballot, as the apex court rightly said, would be turning the clock back and ignoring technology that has served the purpose well and without proven blemishes. Clearly, those who petitioned the court to step in and ban EVMs could not make out a strong case against them.

As for political parties, will AAP explain how it keeps winning in Delhi or how it won in Punjab if the EVMs can be manipulated to throw up predetermined results? Or will the Congress explain how it won in Karnataka and Himachal recently and in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and other states after 2014? Or can the TMC explain why it keeps winning assembly elections in Bengal? If EVMs could be manipulated and if the BJP under Narendra Modi, as alleged, is bent on wiping out the opposition, it would not have allowed these parties to win a single state election post 2014.

In fact, paper ballots were the very basis for goondaism in the voting system. Party cadres used to stuff ballot boxes with ballot papers stamped by them. Ballot boxes were stolen and replaced after all ballot papers inside were also replaced. EVMs offer a transparent and honest voting system and those who doubt their fairness must present data as evidence before making such wild allegations. The Supreme Court has done well to back the Election Commission and the EVMs.