EVM tampering row: Go back to paper ballot, says Congress

In a letter to the ECI, the Congress asked the poll panel to 'revert to paper ballot'

The Congress on Saturday reiterated its demand that Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) should be scrapped after an EVM malfunctioned during an official demonstration ahead of by-elections to two assembly constituencies in Madhya Pradesh.

In a letter to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the Congress asked the poll panel to "revert to paper ballot".

The by-polls are scheduled to be held in Ater and Bandhavgarh assembly constituencies next week.

During a demonstration to the media ahead of the by-polls, the voter-verified paper audit trail showed the BJP as the voted party no matter whichever button was pressed on the EVM.

The Congress asked the ECI to investigate the case alleging that the District Returning Officer (DRO) in Bhind, Madhya Pradesh, threatened media personnel not to publish the news.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also urged the ECI on Saturday to investigate cases of faulty EVMs to ascertain if they were tampered with to favour the BJP in the just-concluded assembly elections in Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Punjab.