Election Commission won't be intimidated into giving up EVMs

Sunil Arora says some people are doing a 'motivated slugfest' over the use of the machines

Amid renewed demands against the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs), Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora asserted that the Election Commission (EC) will not be "intimidated or bullied" into giving up the machines and going back to the era of ballot boxes. He also lamented that EVMs were being used as a "football" and some sections were doing a "motivated slugfest" over their use.

"However, I would like to make it very, very clear once more. In fact, it is not I, it is the entire ECI, it is the ECIs of the past, and it will be the ECIs of the future... we are not going back to the era of ballot papers," Arora said. "We are not going back to that era where we have ballot papers being lifted, musclemen being employed besides the delay in the counting and also too much harassment of polling staff," he added.

Sunil Arora. Pic/PTI

The CEC made the remarks at a conference on 'Making our Elections Inclusive & Accessible' here. "We are open to any criticism, any feedback, from any stakeholders, including political parties. But at the same time, we are not going to be intimidated or bullied or pressurised into giving up EVMs, and starting the era of ballot boxes," he said.

Want polls through ballot papers: Yadav
Citing "doubts and controversy" surrounding EVMs, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav requested the EC to conduct the next polls through ballot papers. "Doubts related to EVMs have put a question mark on the democratic process of the polls," Akhilesh said.

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