Use of EVMs without VVPATs for Haryana municipal polls worrying: Cong.-OxBig News Network

GURUGRAM

Former Congress legislator and the party’s Gurugram poll in-charge Karan Dalal wrote to the Haryana Governor on Saturday, the eve of voting for the Haryana municipal polls, casting aspersions on the State Election Commission’s (SEC) intentions over not using electronic voting machines (EVMs) that are compatible with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) for the polls.

Mr. Dalal urged the Governor to direct the SEC to conduct the polls using paper ballots. He said the Supreme Court in its recent judgments had held that the Election Commission of India (EC) must preserve VVPATs in order to match at least 5% of them in case of a dispute.

‘Request declined’

“We requested the SEC to switch to ballot papers while conducting the municipal elections. We quoted the precedence of Uttarakhand too. Unfortunately, they declined it, citing provisions in the Act to use EVMs in municipal elections. However, now it is being given to understand that they are allowing the use of EVMs without VVPAT,” the letter stated

The poll body cited a shortage of VVPAT machines, it added.

Not compatible: SEC

State Election Commissioner Dhanpat Singh told The Hindu over phone that VVPAT was not compatible with M2-type EVMs available with the SEC. “VVPAT is compatible only with the M3-type EVMs which the EC used for the general election and the Assembly polls. The M2-type EVMs don’t support VVPAT. Also, we don’t have the mandate to buy our own machines,” Mr. Singh said.

Chief Minister Nayab Saini’s press secretary Praveen Attrey said instead of raising doubts about EVMs just a day before polling, the Congress should have moved the court earlier.