India, Sept. 12 -- Sir,

The decision of the Karnataka State Cabinet to recommend to the State Election Commission (SEC) to use ballot papers instead of the EVMs, in the upcoming local body polls, both urban and rural, is regressive and antediluvian. Of course, the relevant Acts and Rules have to be amended to facilitate this changeover backwards.

The reason cited for this decision is that there are allegations, though not substantiated, from the Congress and other Opposition parties that the EVMs are being manipulated at the instance of the BJP and that ballot papers are safe.

This logic is somewhat similar to saying that we should travel by bullock carts and not by motor vehicles since the latter are not safe.

Recently, Air India's B...