Rahul Gandhi: 'Doubts in minds of people about EVM, Opposition will meet EC on Monday'

Congress President Rahul Gandhi. PTI Photo

NEW DELHI: Top leaders of various opposition parties including Congress President Rahul Gandh and NCP chief Sharad Pawar met on Friday to discuss the issue of alleged tampering of EVMs and develop their future course of action. After the meeting, Gandhi told the media that opposition leaders will approach the Election Commission on Monday over EVM controversy. "We have put together a document on EVM which we will take to the Election Commission on Monday at 5:30 pm and we also have some distinct proposals to make," Gandhi said and added that the main issue with the EVMs is that there is a doubt in the minds of people of this country about the fairness of the EVM system. Other than Gandhi and Pawar, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party's Satish Chandra Mishra, DMK's Kanimozhi, Trinamool Congress' Derek O'Brien, CPI's D Raja, CPI-M's T K Rangarajan, Rashtriya Janata Dal's Manoj Jha, Aam Aadmi Party's Sanjay Singh, and Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Jayant Chaudhary, among others, attended the meeting. Senior Congress leaders Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mallikarjun Kharge and A K Antony were also present in the meeting. Various opposition parties have been claiming that only 2-3 countries across the world are using EVMs and the rest have reverted to the ballot paper system following complaints of EVM malfunctioning. The Congress, while supporting the demand, has maintained that since the Lok Sabha election is just around the corner, the EC should ensure counting of paper trail in 50 per cent booths across the country to ensure there is no doubt in the minds of the voters. (With inputs from PTI)