New Delhi: Opposition parties on Wednesday rejected government's call for "One Nation, One Election" and demanded that the ballot papers must be brought back to restore the faith of people in the country's electoral system.
Derek O'Brien of Trinamool Congress said initiating the Short Duration Discussion on Electoral Reforms in Rajya Sabha that EVMs have been a very huge problem. We must not conclude or think if you are anti-EVM you are against technology.
When the technology does not guarantee perfection then you need to question the technology. That is the basic reason that we want ballot papers.
He listed several issues in the present electoral system, including interruptions of international companies during polls, misuse of data, social media and EVMs.
Seeking to introduce Data Protection Bill, O'Brien said, "the issue of electoral reforms has been discussed many times in the Upper House but nothing has happened on it. We have to debate, deliberate and it's time we also legislate on electoral reforms."
Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal pointed out how votes were gathered in the name of Indian soldiers and said that the Election Commission was sleeping during LS polls and was responsible for the negligence.
Citing a private agency's report he said over Rs 60,000 crore were spent during the elections, the Congress leader also criticised the massive spending during the recent Lok Sabha elections.
He also cited examples of several European countries that have banned the EVMs and said his party's opposition to EVMs was "in principle".
Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav said EVMs may or may not be rigged, but the people do not trust it. To restore the confidence of the people, it is necessary that we should get back to the ballot paper.
He suggested that the list of voters for gram panchayats and municipality elections should be used for the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. This will ensure that no votes are missed.
The senior SP leader also suggested that government at centre and states should resign six months ahead of the polls for free and fair elections in the country.
Speaking On 'One Nation, One Election', Yadav said that despite being in poll mode every two years, the development of America stays unaffected.
CPI's D Raja urged the house to go for a collegium to appoint election commissioners and opposed simultaneous polls as "unconstitutional".
He further added that we should think of having a proportional representation system with the candidate and party lists as a mixed system.
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