Amid raging row over the Electronic Voting Machines tampering, Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah on Saturday hit out at the opposition, saying that blaming EVMs for poll defeat amounts to disrespect of the Election Commission. "To blame the electronic voting machines for defeat during the elections is like disrespecting the Election Commission," Shah said. Addressing party members at the BJP's two-day national executive, Shah also warned party leaders against complacency."The BJP is yet to reach its peak. Its golden era will arrive when it rules from panchayat to assemblies across the country and Parliament," he said. Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, meanwhile, told reporters that during the party's national executive in Bhubaneshwar, Shah said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the most populist leader today due to his extraordinary connect with the people. Following the BJP's thumping victories in the recently-concluded assembly elections, many opposition parties have accused the Narendra Modi-led government of tampering with the EVMs to swing the votes in its favour. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi led a roadshow and mingled with crowds at several places breaking security protocol as he arrived in the coastal state to attend the two-day BJP national executive meeting. Considering the 2019 general elections and assembly polls in the state, the saffron party aims to make inroads into Odisha, a stronghold of the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal. Recently, the BJP produced an impressive performance in the state's rural polls, which was held in February. With inputs from PTI
