Hanamkonda: Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation demands the return of ballot paper-based voting

Hanamkonda: Questioning the credibility of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPATs), the leaders of Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation (BAMCEF) and Bahujan Kranthi Morcha (BKM) demanded the Central government to return to ballot paper-based voting.

Speaking at a meeting organized as part of BKM's Parivartana Yatra on Kakatiya University (KU) campus here on Thursday, BAMCEF Telangana In-charge Dr. N Kumar said that country demands conduct of elections through ballot paper system and not the machines.

"Our slogan is 'EVM Hatao – Desh Bachao' to curb large scale irregularities in the election process," Kumar said. The very concept of Dr BR Ambedkar - One man one vote and one vote one value – is being guttered by some political forces, he added. He urged the States to exert pressure on the Central Government to adopt paper ballot system to save democracy.

Stressing the need for paper ballot-based voting system, OBC national president Vikas Chowdary said that the EVMs making mockery of SC, ST, BC and Minorities' votes. Stating that several shocking facts regarding EVM discrepancies such as mismatch between voter turnout and votes polled data have come to fore after 2019 elections, he said that Election Commission of India (ECI)) needs to clarify all those doubts.

The meeting was presided over by Bandi Mogili in which Moulana Hussain Sahid, Abdul Qadir, B Shobhanath, B Sanga Vijay, ABSF Warangal president Manda Naresh, Rishi (TSFI) and Ch Rajender (DBF) were among others present.

Earlier, the participants took out a rally from Kakatiya University and garlanded the statue of Dr BR Ambedkar.