PONDA: Stating that all electronic devices, including Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are vulnerable to hacking and manipulation, Supreme Court Adv Banu Pratap Singh told media at Ponda said that the 2024 General Election should be held using ballot papers. At any cost people of India will not allow to conduct the 2024 LS poll using EVMs, he said.
Adv Banu Pratap Singh called on Goans to support ‘EVM hatao, desh bachao’ campaign. He was accompanied by Engineer D C Kapil, Atul Patel, Tanuj, Mariano Ferrao, Ramkrishna Zalmi, Anthony and others. He alleged that the Election Commission of India lost its morality and is betraying the country. Non transparency is an offence. He also alleged that BJP government of destroying democratic rights.
Adv Banu Pratap Singh said, this is not the fight against machines, but also a fight against the government, which is violating constitutional rights, through EVMs. This fight is to protect the democratic rights of 130 crore people. It is fight to preserve independence of the Election Commission given under Article 324 of the Constitution.
He said the Constitution has provision to protect the independence of Election Commission (ECI) by making provisions that after retirement they would not be appointed on any government post for free and transparent election but sadly today (ECI) has become Election Commission of Modi.
He said reasons for calling (ECI) as Modi Commission is because earlier it was only the responsibility of Election Commission to print symbols, ballots paper under its total supervision and there was no power given to any external body to do this, but after introducing EVMs this responsibility has been given to two companies to manufacture the EVMs and one is Electronic Corporation of India Ltd at Hyderabad and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) at Bangalore. Both these companies are owned by Government of India and which are under the ECI. So today Government which conducts election is also manufacturing EVMs.
“BEL has now turned BJP Electronic Ltd where out of seven directors, four directors are BJP leaders,” he claimed.
He warned the Election Commission and Government of India that in any case people agitating on issue will not allow to conduct the 2024 Lok Sabha elections using EVMs. He said they will take out a morcha on February 25 outside PM’s office. He also urged people to give a missed call on the number 9667722062 to support agitation for doing away with EVMs.
