Opposition parties to meet Friday to discuss EVM issue
New Delhi, Jan 31: Top leaders of various opposition parties will meet Friday to discuss their future course of action on the issue of alleged tampering of EVMs and might also move the Election Commission thereafter, opposition leaders said.
Sources said the Congress has convened a meeting of opposition leaders to discuss a joint strategy on the issue of alleged tampering of electronic voting machines (EVMs) as some parties have questioned their efficacy and demanded that the EC revert to the old system of ballot paper.
The sources add that the opposition parties may petition the Election Commission (EC) to demand that some percentage of VVPAT (voter verifiable paper audit trail) be compulsorily counted to match the EVMs.
"The opposition parties are meeting seriously to raise the issue of EVMs. We are trying to discuss the issue in a meeting of all opposition parties. We are demanding that the EC compulsorily count some percentage of VVPAT (paper trail of votes) with the EVMs," said TMC leader Derek O'Brien.
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 for reverting to the ballot paper system, has maintained that since there is very less time left for Lok Sabha elections, the EC should ensure counting of paper trail in 50 per cent booths across the country to ensure that there is no doubt in the minds of the voters.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
