As the Supreme Court rejected the plea for 100 per cent EVM-VVPAT verification, Delhi Minister and Aam Admi Party (AAP) leader Saurabh Bharadwaj expressed dissatisfaction saying that when the issue went to the apex court, Election Commission, and BJP opposed it.

He stated that if the Central govt says that all VVPATs should be counted then the Election Commission will agree.

“If today, the Central govt says that all VVPATs should be counted then the Election Commission will agree. The problem is when the issue goes to Court, Election Commission, Central govt and BJP oppose this…” he added further.

Earlier in the day, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav said on Friday that the fight for the removal of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), currently used in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, is a ‘long’ one.

Yadav, who recently announced his candidature from the Kannauj Lok Sabha constituency, also said that though everyone will accept the SC’s judgment on EVMs, the fight against the polling machine will not stop.

“There is a long fight ahead on VVPAT, EVM, and ballot paper. Whatever decision the Supreme Court takes, everybody will accept that, but the fight won’t stop. The fight will go on,” the SP chief said while speaking to reporters in Uttar Pradesh’s Kasganj.

His remarks came after the Supreme Court rejected all the petitions seeking the complete verification of votes cast through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) machines with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips on Friday.

Citing the example of Germany, the SP Chief said that several countries across the world do not trust EVMs and consider their usage in elections “unconstitutional.”

“This fight is essential because there are several countries in the world that consider voting through EVMs unconstitutional. Germany, which is a strong nation and far ahead of us, considers voting through EVMs unconstitutional. The fight will go on,” Yadav said.