Allegations on EVM manipulation false, Oppn should learn to accept defeat gracefully: Ravi Shankar Prasad

BJP on Tuesday dubbed as "baseless" and "frivolous", the highly "strategized" blame game by the Opposition alleging manipulation of Electronic Voting Machines and asked them to graciously accepting defeat if Prime Minister Narendra Modi is once again voted into power.

Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad took a jibe at the Opposition, saying that the EVMs were supposedly fine when its leaders Mamata Banerjee, Amarinder Singh and Arvind Kejriwal had won elections and came to power but are now seeking to blame the machines when it looks like a return of the Modi government.

"They are creating unnecessary storm about the EVMs which is nothing but their disappointment. They are seeking a reason to justify their defeat, When they won elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, they didn't raise a single question on the EVM, but now they know that they are going to lose the elections and that is why are blaming it," Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told ANI.

He added that West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati, Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh had similarly not raised their voices against the EVMs when they won elections but were now turning into unnecessary critics.

"Nothing can be termed as a more baseless and classless allegation than these allegations on EVM and the stand of the political parties on it, BJP condemns this highly strategized action by the opposition parties to play this blame game," Prasad said.

Leaders of 22 Opposition parties met the Election Commission (EC) today and pressed for verification of VVPAT slips with EVM figures of randomly selected polling stations and if any discrepancy is found then the

After the meeting, a delegation of opposition parties along with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu went ahead to knock the doors of Election Commission of India (ECI), pressing their demand of tallying VVPAT slips with EVM figures in an entire Assembly constituency, in case a discrepancy is found in any polling booth.