Renowned Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has penned a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, urging the provision of an opportunity for a team of INDIA bloc leaders to meet and discuss their perspectives on VVPATs.
In the missive dated December 30, 2023, Mr. Ramesh highlighted the INDIA parties' earlier request for an appointment with the ECI on December 20, 2023, to discuss and offer suggestions on the use of VVPATs. Emphasizing the repeated attempts to secure a meeting, he expressed the need for a 3-4 member team of INDIA party leaders to present their viewpoint on VVPATS to Mr. Kumar and his colleagues.
The letter also recalled a memorandum submitted on August 9, 2023, addressing EVM-related concerns of INDIA parties. Despite subsequent requests for a meeting, Mr. Ramesh noted that the ECI issued a generic clarification on August 23, 2023, without scheduling a meeting for the INDIA parties' delegation.
Mr. Ramesh underscored that a follow-up representation on October 2, 2023, remained unanswered, raising specific concerns unaddressed in the ECI's earlier clarification. The opposition INDIA bloc, expressing doubts about the integrity of electronic voting machines (EVMs), proposed the distribution of VVPAT slips to voters and the subsequent 100% counting of these slips.
The letter comes in the wake of the INDIA bloc's collective concerns about EVM functioning, particularly after recent BJP victories in state assembly elections. The opposition coalition aims to unify its stance on the matter and present it to the public. The Election Commission currently mandates the verification of printed VVPAT slips from randomly selected polling stations before declaring results in elections to the House of the People.
(With Agency Inputs)
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