Koppal, 6 Sept

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah defended the government’s decision to revert to paper ballots during local body polls instead of using the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and asked why the BJP was so afraid of the change.

The Congress government on Thursday decided to recommend to the State Election Commission (SEC) to hold all the future panchayat and urban local body polls in Karnataka using ballot paper, instead of EVMs.

"Have other countries that are using ballot paper gone back to the stone age? Have America and other advanced countries returned to the stone age? Why are they (BJP) afraid of ballot paper?" Siddaramaiah asked.

He was responding to the BJP comparing his government's decision to use ballot paper, to going back to "stone age".

Addressing press in Koppal, he said, "Statements that we will go back to the stone age by using ballot paper is not right."

"We are saying from our experience that a lot of injustice is happening (in polls). There are issues with the voters' list, Rahul Gandhi (Congress leader) is fighting against it in Bihar, where assembly elections are scheduled to take place. He (Gandhi) had explained how the Congress lost in Mahadevapura assembly segment (in Bengaluru)," he added.