EVM verdict tight slap in oppn's face, it must now apologise: PM Modi

NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi on Friday celebrated the Supreme Court verdict reposing faith in the integrity of electronic voting machines (EVM) by terming it a "tight slap" to Congress and others in the opposition who committed the "sin" of maligning Indian elections .

"Today, the Supreme Court has given them a big shock.

The court has clearly said that the old era of ballot papers will not return. Now, when the poor, the honest voters of the country have got the power of EVM, these people cannot tolerate it. Every leader of the INDI Alliance has sinned, creating doubt in the minds of people regarding EVMs," Modi said at a rally in Bihar.

The PM said when Congress, RJD and other INDI Alliance parties were in office, the poor, backwards and Dalits used to be deprived of their votes through booth capture. "With the introduction of EVMs, they are no longer able to play their old game. Hence, they committed the sin of creating distrust against EVMs," he said in Araria.

"But today, the highest court of the land has delivered a verdict a few hours earlier which comes as a tight slap to these parties, whose dreams have been shattered," Modi said, referring to the judgment.

Asserting that opposition parties always betrayed Indian democracy, the PM said the day was auspicious and one of victory for the country's democracy and he urged the crowd to repeat two slogans - "loktantra zindabad (long live democracy) and Ambedkar zindabad". "The SC verdict is such a slap on opposition that they won't hold their heads high," he added.

Modi said at a time when the whole world was hailing Indian democracy, the process of elections and use of technology, opposition parties, for their vested interests, were hell bent on defaming EVMs.

Law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal described the court verdict as "fabulous". He said the verdict had exposed opposition parties, including Congress, which had left no opportunity to "defame" EC. I&B minister Anurag Thakur emphasised the importance of electoral integrity and called for a shift towards issue-based campaigning by the opposition. "It's time for the opposition to abandon the blame game on EVMs and engage in constructive dialogue on pertinent issues facing our nation," he said.