Stop blaming EVMs for LS poll defeat: Fadnavis tells Oppn

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Tuesday appealed to Opposition leaders to stop blaming EVMs for their defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and accept it as the mandate of people.

Replying to Opposition leaders' claim during proceedings on the last day of the monsoon session, Fadnavis rejected various allegations being raised against his colleagues.

"Opposition leaders must accept that they lost in the Lok Sabha elections due to their own deeds. People of this country have rejected them and it is a bitter but important truth. Even I had once fallen into a similar trap," Fadnavis said.

"Someone had told me some years back that ballot papers with yellow colours were used as a part of bogus voting. We had gone to the Bombay High Court and then Supreme Court but we failed because we refused to accept that we have been defeated by people," he said.

Fadnavis also recalled that the Election Commission had announced an EVM challenge and representatives of the NCP and CPI (M) had attended.

"Both the representatives had then claimed that they went to the EC to understand the procedure and not to challenge EVMs," Fadnavis recalled.