Ahead of the Karnataka elections, a video showing PM Modi speaking in support of ballot papers is widely circulated on social media, claiming that he was against EVMs before becoming the Prime Minister.
The 23-second clip states: “Brothers and sisters, hey even the educated countries of the world, when elections are held, neither read the names on the ballot paper. Even today they are slapped with taxes. Even in America.”
The video is shared with a text:सूनो…ये महाशय गलतीसे सच बोल रहे है…
Here’s the link to the above post.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the above claim, and found it to be MISLEADING.
A report by NDTV, dated December 03, 2016, mentions that Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed BJP volunteers at the Parivartan Rally in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh.
The reports, which highlighted the key points of Modi’s speech, also had a point related to ballot papers. “The people who say Indians are illiterate, Indians don’t know anything. But around the world, people use paper ballots. India votes through a button,” the article quoted PM Modi as saying.
Performing a keyword search, our team found the same video on PM Modi’s official YouTube channel, dated December 3, 2016. As per its description, this is PM Modi’s address during the Parivartan Rally in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh.
Carefully going through his full speech, we found the viral statement at 55:20 min of the video. In the same context, he addresses the use of EVMs, stating: “…some people say that our country is poor, people are illiterate, people do not know anything. Brothers and sisters, even in the educated countries of the world…when elections are held, they read the names on the ballot paper and stamp them even today…even in America. This is India…the one whom you call illiterate, poor, knows how to vote by pressing the button.” Thus, it is evident that he is praising the use of EVMs in India.
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