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The Centre defended the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and criticised the Opposition’s “double standards” in opposing EVMs whenever they lose an election.
Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who led a short-duration discussion on electoral reforms, also pitched for the ‘one nation, one election’.
Prasad retorted to the Opposition’s criticism that the BJP used the Indian Military’s achievements during the election campaign by drawing similarities between it and the narrative in the country after the 1971 war with Pakistan. He, however, agreed with the Opposition’s stand that there is a need to reduce the use of money in elections.
The discussion was initiated by senior Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien, who demanded an amendment to the Constitution to ensure a free and fair process to select Chief Election Commissioner and election commissioners. On the electoral reforms, he urged the Centre to implement previous reports such as the Indrajit Gupta committee report that suggested several measures to curb money and muscle power in electoral politics.
Elections and social media
O’Brien and many other Opposition MPs demanded return to the ballot papers and said EVMs have lost credibility. He also warned against the interference of “international social media platforms” in the country’s electoral process.
He said misuse of data and surrogate advertisements were also rampant during the last Lok Sabha polls and said a Right to privacy Bill is the only way to address the problem of data misuse. BJP MP Bhupender Yadav said ‘one nation, one election’ will ease administrative issues that arise every time the code of conduct is in place ahead of elections.
Citing examples in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, he said voters are mature enough to vote for one party in the State and another for the Centre. He said the Opposition is attempting to take democracy backwards by indulging in a nationwide smear campaign against EVMs. He claimed that the BJP government has made political funding transparent by bringing electoral bonds.
Countering this, Congress leader and former Minister Kapil Sibal said money spent in an election was the highest during the last Lok Sabha polls.
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