Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday took a dig at opposition parties over their repeated allegations of EVM tampering, saying that all of them went mum on the evening of June 4.
Speaking at the NDA parliamentary meeting in New Delhi, PM Modi said: "When results were coming out on 4th June, I was busy with work. Phone calls started coming in later. I asked someone, numbers are fine, tell me EVM zinda hai ki mar gaya (Is EVM alive or dead)? ... I thought they [opposition] would plan the funeral of EVM this time."
PM Modi said that the opposition parties had even planned an all-out strategy to question EVMs before the counting started.
"These people (Opposition) had decided to ensure that people stop believing in democracy and democratic process of India. They continuously abused EVM. I thought they would take out the funeral procession of the EVM. But by the evening of 4th June, unko taale lag gaye. EVM ne unko chup kar diya (EVMs shut them down)," he said.
The Prime Minister hoped that no one will doubt EVMs for at least the next five years.
The Prime Minister was referring to the opposition's silence on EVM after the INDIA bloc parties fared better in the Lok Sabha elections than widely predicted by pollsters.
PM Modi added that by 2029, perhaps the opposition will again harp about EVM.
The BJP-led NDA won 292 seats in the Lok Sabha elections while the oppositon bloc INDIA got 234 seats.
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