Oppn blaming EVMs because of lack of issues, claims Athawale

Union minister Ramdas Athawale on Saturday said the opposition was raising issues about electronic voting machines as they had nothing left to talk about.

He went on to add that EVMs were introduced during the tenure of the Congress and not the ruling BJP.

"Since opposition parties are left with no issues, they are now raking up the issue of EVMs. EVMs were first introduced by the Congress and not BJP. Ballot paper counting takes time and there was also bogus voting," he said.

EVMs were used in several countries after which parties in the country sought its introduction, the Union minister for social justice and empowerment added.

Terming the allegations of EVM rigging against the ruling BJP as bogus, he said the party was winning polls because people liked Prime Minister Narendra Modi as his politics was beyond caste and religion.

"If EVMs had issues, then the BJP and Shiv Sena would have not lost Baramati and Shirur Lok Sabha seats. When the Congress won Assembly polls in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan (last last year), the BJP did not complain about EVMs," he added.

Taking a dig at Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, who recently met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to garner support on EVMs, Athawale said the former was left with no work.

"He should focus on expanding his party rather than meeting Mamata Banerjee. Instead of talking about EVMs, he should tell us where we are making mistakes," Athawale said.

The Union minister said the influx of leaders from other parties into the BJP was because they have realised that there is no alternative to PM Modi.

He expressed confidence that the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance would win a thumping majority in the Maharashtra Assembly polls to be held later this year.

He refuted reports that that the BJP did well in the Lok Sabha polls in the state because the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi led by Prakash Ambedkar managed to split votes.

"Even without the VBA, the BJP would have won. Many people from VBA are now joining RPI(A)," he claimed.

Athawale said any law enacted to stop lynching incidents would get his support.

He said the passage of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act in Parliament reflected the Union government's commitment towards issues faced by women of the minority community.