Defending his presence in a press conference held in London, where an announcement on the alleged vulnerability of electronic voting machines (EVMS) was made, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said it is not an issue of any political party but of protection of democracy. “It is a matter connected with the future of the country,” he said.

He said he got an invitation from the organisers of the press conference in London. “I was told that invitations have been sent to other political parties, including the BJP and the Election Commission,” Sibal said.

The Congress leader said the person who held the press conference, Syed Shuja, got political asylum in the United States. He said he was informed that Shuja was associated with an agency linked to Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. “I was told that he was shot at in Hyderabad and several people were killed in that encounter. I don’t know the fact. The issue should be probed,” Sibal said.

Congress’s deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma said the entire Opposition had approached President Ramnath Kovind on EVMs. “We have collectively given a memorandum to the Election Commission. Unfortunately, that very legitimate concern was not addressed and the Supreme Court in turn had opined that there would be random counting of a small percentage of the VVPAT slips,” he said and urged the poll panel to address the concerns.

BSP supremo Mayawati said the next elections should be held using ballot papers. “The latest revelations have made the doubts on the EVMs more serious. Under such conditions, it is better that the future elections, especially the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, be conducted using ballot papers which can be verified at three levels unlike the EVMs,” she said.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said the BJP is trying to weaken democratic institutions. “Why does a country such as Japan, not using the EVMs? The question should be raised among the nation’s 130 crore people,” he said.

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