Civil society leaders want paper ballots back, urge Congress to discuss issue in Belagavi meet
BENGALURU: Several civil society leaders and former bureaucrats have urged AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge to continue with the campaign against Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with party MP Rahul Gandhi at the helm. This comes at a time when the issue has gained support from senior Opposition leaders, including BSP’s Mayawati and Sharad Pawar of NCP (SP).
The civil society leaders have in a second letter on December 22 urged the Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress former presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to take up the issue in the upcoming Congress meet in Belagavi.
The present letters have been written by civil society group consisting of Tara Rao of Eddelu Karnataka, Prof Harish Karnick, IIT Kanpur (retd), activist Teesta Setalvad, retired IAS officer MG Devasahayam, activist Noor Sridhar, journalist Jitendra Nath Nandi, Dr Sunilam Activist, Dr Bharath Patankar, Prafulla Samantara, Shyam Gaekwad and many others.
The civil society coalition, which has been pushing for electoral reforms, has outlined several key objectives for the campaign. The central demand is the immediate restoration of paper ballots in elections, emphasising transparency and verifiability. The group argues that paper ballots ensure a more accountable process, allowing voters to confirm that their vote has been accurately cast and counted, something they claim EVMs fail to guarantee.
Civil society activists contend that EVMs undermine democracy by making it impossible for voters to verify their votes. They said a nationwide, peaceful movement needs to be launched, urging political parties, civil society groups, and voters to unite in demanding the restoration of paper ballots. They said the movement will continue until the Election Commission of India agrees to their demand.
The coalition is calling on the ECI to respond to a formal notice submitted in July 2024, which highlights alleged vote manipulation and irregularities in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The group demands a transparent investigation into these claims.
The campaign also calls for rooting out sabotage from within political parties, particularly targeting infiltrators from opposing ideological groups.