Apex court order should set to rest controversy around EVMs: Former CEC SY Quraishi

''This is a very good decision. Earlier, there were doubts in public. There was need of people's faith in the system and now I think the order of the apex court will put the matter to rest. Now, the scientists keep on discussing this issue. The debate must stop now," said Quraishi on the sidelines of an event on "Unregulated Social Media and Elections" at Press Club of India here.

The apex court order came on a plea filed by 21 Opposition parties that had sought a direction to the poll panel to randomly verify at least 50 per cent of electronic voting machines using voter-verifiable paper audit trail slips in the assembly and general elections beginning April 11.

The poll body had told the apex court that such an increase would create an "insurmountable difficulty" in the election process. It would lead to 5.2 days of delay in vote-counting, the poll overseer said.

Mr Quraishi also countered the EC's view and said it should not be made a prestige issue rather moving towards solutions.

"There would not be much delay in election results with this. I can give you suggestions. What they told about the delay by about 6 days was wrong. The results used to be declared in two days when the elections were taking place through ballot papers. In those times, ballot papers used to be of a newspaper size, 20-50 candidates in fray and on every ballot they used to fight but now the slip of VVPAT is of 3/3" and it can be counted easily. We should move towards solutions and not make it prestige issue," said the former chief election commissioner.  

Image: Wikimedia Commons