Goa Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant has stepped up his criticism of the Congress over its allegations concerning Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), the Election Commission and voter-related issues.

Sawant said Congress had earlier targeted EVMs and was now attacking the Election Commission after failing to establish its allegations against the voting machines. Referring to the recent press conference by the three Election Commissioners, he said the issues raised by Congress had been clarified and claimed the party’s allegations had been exposed as false.

The Chief Minister also pointed to the Zilla Panchayat elections, which were conducted using ballot papers. He said Congress had opposed EVMs, but its performance in the ballot-paper elections showed that the party could not attribute its electoral setbacks to the use of EVMs.

Sawant further accused the Opposition of attempting to create a religious divide over voter-related issues. He alleged that political parties were using voter concerns to create divisions rather than focusing on development.

The Chief Minister said the Opposition’s repeated allegations against electoral institutions and the voting process were, according to him, creating unnecessary hurdles to the country’s progress.