Congress doubts EVMs only when it loses elections: Jyotiraditya Scindia

Gwalior, Apr 2 (PTI) Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday took a swipe at Congress over the party veteran Digvijaya Singh's demand for holding elections through ballot papers, saying the Grand Old Party raises EVM issue only when it loses the electoral battle.

Scindia wondered why Singh didn't raise the issue of Electronic Voting Machines when they were introduced by Congress in the past.

Singh, the Congress nominee from Rajgarh Lok Sabha constituency, on Monday, said he was trying to get 400 people to file nominations so that polls will be held through ballot papers.

Singh has been demanding the introduction of ballot papers for conducting elections, raising doubts over the credibility of EVMs.

"He has a problem with everything. Why didn't he raise questions when Congress introduced EVMs? He has been raising questions on EVMs for the past 10-15 years. No question is asked by Congress (on EVM credibility) when it wins but a lot of doubts are raised when they lose," said Scindia while responding to a query on Singh's demand.

It is a stigma to raise the questions over democracy and voting rights of people, the BJP leader said.

Queried on Rahul Gandhi's critical post on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Scindia questioned Congress' moral rights for speaking about corruption.

A day before, Gandhi alleged that the Prime Minister talked about fighting corruption but he is distributing the franchise of corruption from Assam to Maharashtra.

"This is the example of the proverbial 'Ulta Chor Kotwal Ko Dante' (the pot calling the kettle black). During the 10-year Congress rule, India's identity in the world was a country with corruption and crony capitalism. But they (Congress leaders) are now questioning PM Modi's resolve of 'Na Khaunga, Na Khane Dunga' (won't allow corruption)," Scindia added.

The BJP has fielded Scindia, who belongs to the erstwhile royal family, from the Guna constituency, which he had represented four times in the past before losing in 2019 when he was with Congress. PTI