Ravi Shankar Prasad says voters make or break fortunes; not EVMs

Ravi Shankar Prasad asked, "When we (BJP) lost elections in Bihar, and Delhi, the EVMs were fine. But now that we have won (in Uttar Pradesh), the EVMs are faulty. What kind of standard is this?"

New Delhi, March 23: Dismissing doubts over the misuse of electronic voting machines, Union Law and Justice Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday said EVMs don't make or break fortunes, but voters do.

"EVMs don't make or break fortune; voters do," Prasad said while replying to a debate in the Rajya Sabha over electoral reforms that began on Wednesday.

"When we (BJP) lost elections in Bihar, and Delhi, the EVMs were fine. But now that we have won (in Uttar Pradesh), the EVMs are faulty. What kind of standard is this?" Prasad asked the opposition leaders.

"If we were powerful enough to effect changes in EVMs, we could have done this in Bihar, and certainly in Delhi, to win assembly elections," he added.

The Minister, belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party, said all parties must learn to respect the public mandate.

IANS