Amit Shah interview | Opposition rakes up the EVM issue selectively, says Home Minister

Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah refuted allegations levelled by the Opposition on EVM tampering and the Bharatiya Janata Party being the beneficiary of the practice.

In an exclusive interview with Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi, Shah questioned the Opposition's politics of questioning the election mechanism when the outcome is not in their favour.

"I will first clarify one thing: Rahul Gandhi ji does not think about what he says ... If we won because of EVM, then why did we lose in Telangana, or in Tamil Nadu? Why have we been losing in Kerala for years? Why did we lose in Himachal and Bengal? Then Rahul Gandhi should say it clearly that even if we (Congress) win in the outcome shown by EVMs, we will not take oath," said the BJP leader answering a question on Opposition's continued attack.

Speaking on “One nation, one election”, Shah said that BJP has included “One nation, one election” in its manifesto and will do everything it can to implement it.

The Election Commission has tweaked the protocol for handling and storage of SLU, symbol loading units, following the directions of the Supreme Court which had ordered that the machines should be sealed and secured in a container and stored in a strongroom along with the EVMs at least for 45 days post the declaration of results.

While refusing a revival of paper ballots, the Supreme Court on April 26 upheld the electronic voting machine (EVM) polling system and underscored the need to “exercise care and caution” when raising questions about the integrity of the electoral process.