Digvijaya suggests an alternative to EVM

New Delhi: Amidst polling in Maharashtra and Haryana for the Assembly elections, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has suggested the Election Commission a “reliable system of a combination of EVM and Ballot Box”, and urged all political parties to consider this option.
Citing a news report, Singh in a series of tweets wrote, “Haryana-Maharashtra Elections 2019: Here is how EVM-VVPAT can be manipulated due to a major technical glitch. EC is aware of lacuna but continues to be silent.” Singh said if the CEC still insists on EVMs, then he has a request. “After pressing the button on ballot unit instead the Voter seeing the picture on the screen for 7 seconds the printer should give the Voter printed vote in his hand which he can physically put in a ballot box,” he tweeted.
“Now the argument put forward by CEC would be that the counting would take a lot of time. As it stands today CEC picks up 5 booths randomly and checks the printed vote as per Supreme Court order,” he added.
He went on to add, “If the voter has put the printed vote in a Ballot Box then he or the candidates or the political parties can’t complain. And the time taken would be the same. So it would be a reliable system of a combination of EVM and Ballot Box.” Singh has suggested all political parties who requested CEC to do away with EVM and return to Ballot Box to consider this option for a “greater reliability in our elections which would strengthen our Democracy and again call a meeting to consider this option.”