Union Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday took a jibe at the opposition parties over their allegations on discrepancies in electronic voting machines (EVMs), saying people having less knowledge of technology were laughing at them. He also said that the country wanted to see Narendra Modi as Prime Minister again. “People are laughing at them (opposition parties). Even those who have less knowledge of technology are also laughing. All these people, especially the poor, want to see Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister again,” he said. Harsh Vardhan is the sitting MP from the high-prestige Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha constituency. He is pitted against Jai Prakash Agarwal of Congress and AAP’s Pankaj Gupta. The seat also holds significance as Modi in his five-year tenure as PM has delivered speeches on Independence Day from the ramparts of the Red Fort, in Chandni Chowk. Taking a swipe at the Opposition, Harsh Vardhan said, “People are questioning that when Congress had formed governments they did not find anything bad in these EVMs. But with their imminent defeat, they are giving excuses to justify their loss.” Recently 22 political parties moved the Election Commission of India demanding counting of VVPAT slips before the counting of EVMs. The polling body, however, rejected the opposition parties’ demand on the basis of the impracticability of its implementation and cited the Supreme Court’s order on the subject. The counting of votes in 542 Lok Sabha constituencies began at 8 am today amidst tight security, capping a two-month long election process which witnessed high-octane campaigning and charges of EVM tampering and violations of the Model Code of Conduct.
