Opposition demands paper trail in EVMs for polls in Gujarat, Himachal

Demand follows BSP chief Mayawati allegation that EVMs were rigged in UP assembly polls

Opposition members today demanded in the Rajya Sabha the early implantation of a 2013 Supreme Court order that requires each electronic voting machine, or EVM, to have a voter verified paper audit trail, or VVPAT.

During a short duration discussion on electoral reforms, opposition members, led by Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, said EVMs be used in the assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, scheduled for end of this year, only if equipped with VVPAT. Azad said the Centre should release the requisite money to the Election Commission for manufacture of VVPAT machines. Azad said