Normally questions are raised about EVMs (electronic voting machines) and Election Commission after elections are over, but on Tuesday, the question of EVM was raised soon after EC declared the poll schedules for Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly elections. Shiv Sena (Uddhav) leader Sanjay Raut said, opposition parties do not trust the working of EVMs and what happened in Haryana can be repeated in Maharashtra too. Raut said, EC will have to prove its impartiality in Maharashtra elections. Congress leader Rashid Alvi alleged that EVMs could be manipulated just like Hezbollah pagers which were hacked by Israel to carry out blasts in Lebanon. Alvi appealed to opposition parties to demand voting through paper ballots.
At his press conference, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar rubbished this allegation and cleared all doubts. He said, "our EVMs are more robust than Hezbollah's pagers and they are 100 per cent foolproof. EVMs cannot be hacked. Pagers are connected devices, but EVMs are not. Similar allegations were made earlier that votes cast in favour of one party were going to another."
Regarding the 20 complaints received from Congress candidates about EVMs, Rajiv Kumar said, EC would write separately to each complainant with detailed facts and proof of candidates' or their agents' invoment in handing of EVMs at every stage".
The CEC said, "where in the world is there so much public disclosure and participation? Results have differed in election after election and when the result is adverse, then the result is termed as wrong."
Rajiv Kumar explained the entire polling and counting process. "When EVMs are commissioned, symbols loaded and new batteries installed, candidates or their agents sign on the seal. EVMs are kept in strongrooms with double lock and three layers of security. All processes are videographed. Counting area is barricaded. How can there be a mix-up when candidates and their agents check things round after round?"
I think, those who are again questioning EVMs, will have to answer many questions. One, Were EVMs working perfectly during Lok Sabha polls, but were hacked during Haryana polls? Did EVMs work perfectly in Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh, but were tampered with in MP and Chhattisgarh? Who will believe such allegations?
Let me reiterate. An electronic voting machine is just like a calculator, and it has no connection with internet via Bluetooth or any remote device. The battery usage of an EVM is writter on the form at the time the EVM is packed and sealed. It is countersigned by candidates or their agents.
Secondly, in a big country like India, where thousands of EVMs are used, lakhs of government employees are involved in the electoral process, how can EVMs be hacked? And if some people tamper with the EVMs, how can the matter remain a secret?
Victories and defeats do take place during elections, but to blame defeat on the Election Commission or to raise questions about EVM tampering, is, I think, childish. The Election Commission is a Constitutional body. If leaders start pointing fingers at our Constitutional bodies, without any solid proof, it can ultimately damage our democracy.
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