“Where the world is praising our democracy and the electoral process, the Opposition is defaming the same for their personal benefits,” PM Modi said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday expressed his satisfaction with the Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss pleas for cross-verification of votes cast using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with a Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). He described the ruling was a “tight slap” on those people who continuously tried to “malign EVM”. During an election rally in Bihar’s Araria, PM Modi called for an apology from the Opposition, highlighting their attempts to sow doubt about EVMs.
The Prime Minister condemned the INDI alliance leaders for casting doubts on the voting system, noting that the Supreme Court’s verdict had thwarted their intentions of manipulating ballot boxes. “Where the world is praising our democracy and the electoral process, the Opposition is defaming the same for their personal benefits,” PM Modi said.
“Every leader of the INDI alliance has committed the sin of creating doubts in the minds of the public regarding EVM. But today, look at the power of the country’s democracy and Baba Saheb Ambedkar’s Constitution, today the Supreme Court has given such a severe blow to those who intended to loot the ballot boxes that all their dreams have been shattered,” the PM added.
INDI गठबंधन के हर नेता ने EVM को लेकर जनता के मन में संदेह पैदा करने का पाप किया है।
लेकिन आज देश के लोकतंत्र और बाबा साहेब अंबेडकर के संविधान की ताकत देखिए, आज सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने मतपेटियों को लूटने का इरादा रखने वालों को ऐसा गहरा झटका दिया है कि उनके सारे सपने चूर-चूर हो गए हैं।… pic.twitter.com/LAvdzv1Ev3
— BJP (@BJP4India) April 26, 2024
Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court made a significant decision by rejecting pleas for complete cross-verification of votes cast using EVMs with a VVPAT. The court emphasized that blindly distrusting any aspect of the system can lead to unwarranted scepticism.
Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta highlighted the importance of building harmony and trust among all institutions in a democracy. They delivered two concurring verdicts, dismissing all pleas related to the matter, including those advocating for a return to ballot papers in elections.
A Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta also rejected the prayer for going back to paper ballot instead of EVMs. “We have rejected the prayer for paper ballot voting, complete EVM-VVPAT verification and physical deposit of VVPAT slips,” the Court said pronouncing its order.
However, the Court passed the following directions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and other authorities to make EVMs foolproof:
- On completion of symbol loading process the symbol loading units shall be sealed, the sealed container shall be kept in the strong rooms for 45 days;
- All candidates shall have the option to be present at the time of verification. The district election officer shall certify the authenticity of the burnt memory;
- Burnt memory in microcontroller unit to be checked by team of engineers.
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