'Quit EVM', demands CPI(M-L) Liberation

The CPI(M-L) Liberation on Tuesday demanded replacing EVMs with ballot papers and withdrawal of the amendment of the RTI Act that have been passed by the Parliament.

The party will start a nationwide movement from August 9 demanding that electronic voting machines be stopped immediately, CPI(M-L) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said here.

"On August 9, the Quit India day, we will launch a movement demanding to bring back ballot papers. Our slogan will be Quit EVM in different cities of India.

This will not happen in a day and we want to build public opinion about bringing back ballot papers in elections," he told reporters on the sidelines of a programme to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the party.

The party also celebrated the birth centenary of Naxalite leader Charu Mazumdar.

"EVM is not foolproof and people have doubt about it. When elections were held on ballot papers, people were assured that whom they had voted will be kept secret but it is not guaranteed in the EVMs," Bhattacharya claimed.

Many technologically advanced countries have stopped using EVMs and replacing it with ballot papers is the most crucial electoral reform that is required in India, he said.

The doors are open for discussion for all parties that do not want continuation of the EVM, including the Trinamool Congress (TMC), he said.

At a rally on July 21, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee demanded that ballot papers be brought back in place of EVMs.

"The BJP was against EVMs till 2009. I don't know why it suddenly a supporter of it in 2014 and 2019," Bhattacharya said.

Meanwhile, a convention of the party demanded withdrawal of the amendment of the RTI Act that have been passed by both Houses of Parliament.

During the convention, social activists Teesta Setalvad and Binayak Sen also expressed concern over the manner in which the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is being used as a tool of exclusion and discrimination in Assam.

The speakers condemned the recent incidents of mob lynching over chanting of Jai Shri Ram.

"We call for determined principled solidarity with every one of us who is under attack. We call for a united defence of our collective rights, and our country's democracy and diversity. We will not allow secular, democratic India to turn into a Hindu rashtra," Setalvad said.