SC Order a tight slap to Opposition: PM
On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the Supreme Court’s denial of requests for a Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) and cross-verification of votes cast using electronic voting machines as a “tight slap to the Opposition.”
The Prime Minister added that the country should accept an apology from the Opposition.
PM Modi made the statement while speaking at an Araria, Bihar, election rally.
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“We have an auspicious day for our democracy today. “The Supreme Court has delivered a severe blow to the Opposition, which used to beg for EVMs” The Prime Minister added.
“They should apologise to the nation,” he stated.
“Where the world is praising our democracy and the electoral process, the Opposition is defaming the same for their personal benefits,” PM Modi stated.
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SC Verdict on EVM-VVPAT
The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed all the petitions seeking the thorough verification of votes cast using Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips. The two judges on the bench Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta also turned down a request to go back to ballot papers in elections.
“We rejected all pleas related to bringing ballot papers again.” Justice Khanna said at the hearing.
In two concurring rulings, a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta upheld the notion that “democracy is all about striving to build harmony and trust between all institutions” and rejected all of the requests submitted in the case, including those requesting a return to ballots used in elections.
In the last hearing held in the Supreme Court, the bench of Justice Sanjeev Khanna and Justice Dipankar Dutta had reserved its decision on the petitions related to verification of votes cast through EVM with VVPAT. The bench had told Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Election Commission, “We do not want to be proved wrong, but want to be completely sure about our findings.” For this reason we thought of asking for clarification..’
