Published 16:37 IST, February 4th 2020
'Susceptible to Jugaad': Richa Chadha rakes up EVM debate before Delhi assembly elections
Richa Chadha questioned the credibility of Electronic Voting Machines, four days before Delhi assembly elections. She says the country should go back to ballots
The famous EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) debate has been raked up on the Internet just four days before the Delhi Assembly elections. Bollywood actress Richa Chadha took to her Twitter handle to revive the line of argument that had been attempted before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, and sought for EVMs to be eschewed in favour of the old paper ballot system.
Chadha wrote: "The countries that invented EVMs don’t use them anymore. We should go back to the paper ballot, doesn’t matter who wins or loses. At least people will believe the results." She was likely referring to the US, which is credited with having invented EVMs but has since stopped using them.
To this, director Kunal Kohli, wrote: "You’ve forgotten booth capturing? Countries might have invented EVM’s. We’ve got jugaad. Can work around anything." Chadha in response said that she hasn't forgotten booth capturing but, "the current EC seems to have forgotten people like T N Seshan." Booth capturing is a method of fraudulently interfering with the process of an election whereby members of a party occupy a polling booth, excluding and voting in place of those people who are registered to vote there.
Richa added: "EVM is susceptible to Jugaad, that's why the countries that have invented it, have banned their use."
Tirunellai Naryana Seshan, known as TN Seshan, led the ECI as CEC from 1990 to 1996. He received the prestigious Magsaysay Award for making the electoral process more transparent.
Richa's tweet re-ignites old debate
Meanwhile, A 41-year-old man from Uttarakhand is on a countrywide 'padayatra' to seek a ban on Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) and bring back ballot papers in elections. Onkar Singh Dhillon, a real-estate businessman of Rudrapur in Uttarakhand was in Berhampur on Sunday evening as part of his 'padayatra' to create awareness against EVMs after travelling around 4,500-km on foot. He left this south Odisha city on Monday as he resumed his onward journey.
The EVM debate
It was after the BJP's stupendous 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly election win that Mayawati had first alleged EVM tampering. Following that, a number of other parties selectively used the same allegation when they lost elections to the BJP, with the Congress going furthest in its attempts to controversialise the issue by sending Kapil Sibal to London for what was billed as a live-hacking of an EVM. However, the 'hacker' backed out.
Updated 16:37 IST, February 4th 2020