KOPPAL (KARNATAKA): (Sep 6) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday sought to know why the BJP is afraid of ballot paper, while defending his government’s decision to revert to the old system of voting during elections for the local body polls, instead of using the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

The Congress government in Karnataka on Thursday decided to recommend to the State Election Commission (SEC) to hold all the future panchayat and urban local body polls in the state using ballot paper, instead of EVMs.

“Have other countries that are using ballot paper gone back to the stone age? Have America and other advanced countries returned to the stone age? Why are they (BJP) afraid of ballot paper?” Siddaramaiah asked.