EC chief dismisses Mamata’s demand of getting back to ballot papers

Kolkata, August 09: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora on Friday dismissed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's demand to bring back ballot papers in place of electronic voting machines, saying there is no question of going back to the old system.

Arora said that the Supreme Court has repeatedly given verdicts against the return of ballot papers. "We are not going back to the era of ballot papers. The Supreme Court has more than once said that ballot papers are our past," Arora told reporters after arriving at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International airport here.

Talking on the possibilities of holding elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Arora said that a formal communication was awaited from the Ministries of Home and Law. "We are waiting for the formal communication from the Home and Law ministries," he said.