Top Opposition leaders addressed a joint press conference over the issue of malfunctioning EVMs in the country on Tuesday, 23 April, in Mumbai. Talking to the media, Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu said that out of 191 countries in the world, only 18 have adopted EVMs for polls and most of them are underdeveloped and small countries.
“Today there are complaints from Goa, Kerala and UP and all say that whomever you vote for, the vote goes to lotus,” he said.
Addressing rumours about Russians being involved, Naidu cited provisions for an audit of EVMs, the absence of a regulator to oversee the usage of the machines, and malfunctioning as some of the reasons behind the criticisms of EVMs.
Citing the petition filed by 23 parties in the Supreme Court against EVMs, Naidu asked why the VVPAT displays the slip only for 3 seconds instead of 7 seconds. Naidu demanded that the EC ensure cross-checking of 50 percent of VVPAT slips and if there is any difference between the VVPAT record and the EVM, the VVPAT should prevailed.