Not against EVMs, but need paper back-up: Nitin Gadkari

BJP chief Nitin Gadkari today said his party was not against Electronic Voting Machines or use of technology in elections but wanted paper back-up as it had still not been proved that EVMs were tamper-proof.
     
"The system should be modernised. We are not against modernisation or against EVMs but only want paper back-up," Gadkari said at the launch of "Democracy at Risk", a book on EVMs and their susceptibility to tampering by psephologist GVL Narasimha Rao.

Gadkari insisted that reservations about EVMs were not confined to the BJP alone and many other political parties, including the Orissa unit of Congress, were wary of its use.

"On the one hand, we say voting percentage should be increased and voting should be made mandatory and on the other hand, people cannot vote (due to tampering of EVMs). This is not a problem of voting alone but a problem related to Indian democracy," Gadkari said.

Rao said he is closely watching a case in the Delhi High Court on the issue and if the verdict is not satisfactory he may file a fresh case.

He is also in touch with leaders from the Left parties and TDP, among others, on the issue as they have expressed doubts on EVMs being leak-proof.     

"It is a blatant lie that EVMs are tamper-proof. I think the use of EVMs on a national scale is illegal," Rao said.