New Delhi: The ballot paper voting must be returned, and a concerted campaign on the scale of Bharat Jodo Yatra to create awareness about it is required, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said on Tuesday. Referring to NDA’s clean sweep in Maharashtra Assembly elections, Kharge demanded the return of ballot paper and said that otherwise, the votes of the poor and the marginalised would go to waste, PTI reported.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by evangelist K A Paul, seeking the reintroduction of ballot papers in elections instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
The court, presided over by a two-judge bench including Justice Vikram Nath and Justice P B Varale, dismissed the plea while observing that allegations of EVM tampering often arise from electoral losses. The court, however, found no merit in the plea, stating that the argument lacked substantive evidence to support claims of systemic issues with EVMs.
Speaking at the 'Samvidhan Abhiyaan'bhiyaan' function at Talkatora stadium, Kharge alleged that businessman Gautam Adani, who is closely associated with NDA and allegedly with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had a lot to do with the election as his wealth was at"stake.
"We should all unite and move forward together and push them aside. I do not wish to speak about elections, but I would surely say the votes of all the poor and oppressed communities are going to waste. They should all demand voting by ballot" paper," h" said.
"Let them keep EVMs with don't don't want EVMs, we want to vote on the ballot paper. Then, they will know what their position is and where they"stand.
"From our party, we should start this campaign to make everyone aware that they should want ballot paper back. We will speak to other political parties also," Kharge said, urging Rahul Gandhi to launch a movement.
"We should start a campaign like Bharat Jodo Yatra to bring back the ballo" paper," he stressed.
Later, he said that Modi feared a caste census. The PM is afraid that if he allows a caste census, then all sections of society will demand their share.
Kharge also accused the BJP of not having any "constitutional integrity or federal character" and alleged that the party was undoing everything that BR Ambedkar and other members of the Constituent Assembly did through the Constitution.