DEHRADUN: Controversy shrouding electronic voting machines may have lost political traction after Maharashtra state assembly election results but Onkar Singh Dhillon, a 47-year-old businessman from Rudrapur town of Uttarakhand is convinced that these EVMs are 'faulty'.
"In these machines input is different and output is different. The Bhartiya Janta Party government in the center has not done anything in its previous tenure. The results of 2017 were shocking. Afterwards, in 2019 general elections, it was crystal clear that the machines are rigged to benefit the BJP," asserted Dhillon.
Pointing out that 19 lakh EVMs are missing and the central government refused to give any information under RTI, he recalls that seed of doubt became a full-grown tree after results of 2017 Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections results.
He has been travelling on foot since 110 days now with a trolly of his essentials sleeping off on petrol pumps and roadside spots in his 6500km journey till date.
His slogan is 'Bring Back Ballot' with an urge to discard EVMs for good.
"EVMs are the root cause of whatever wrong is happening in the country. Struggle for independence took 90 years and this fight is going to last maybe even longer. We should be back to the ballot because EVMs are manipulative and used by the current political regime to gain power," asserts Dhillon.
He has reached Karnataka faring through Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and plans to conclude his journey in Raj Ghat in Delhi.
In his journey, he keeps doing live sessions about how EVMs are not good for democracy and the electoral system.
He posts in detail how the EVMs can be hacked and misused in converting the votes given to one candidate to another.
"I appeal to people to oppose the use of the EVM and even approach the Prime Minister on social media using the posts I regularly provide on social media. I hope my efforts will be recognized one day," adds Dhillon.
Father of two children, a three-year-old son and 8-year-old daughter, Dhillon favours trekking and other adventure sports over television and films.
However, he is a social media buff and posts an update of his journey without fail.