Reacting to claims that have emerged from the recent Hackathon event in London that tampering of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) of the Election Commission of India (ECI) led to Bharatiya Janata Party’s landslide victory in the last Lok Sabha polls, Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday has urged the ECI to look for an ‘alternative’.
Calling them a ‘threat to a vibrant democracy’, the Samajwadi Party chief made this statement after an Indian ‘cyber expert’ in London said that the meddling with EVMs had affected the results of the last national elections in 2014. The ECI has however maintained that the EVMs are manufactured in adherence to ‘rigorous standard operating procedures’ – they cannot be tampered with.
Pointing out that a ‘developed country like Japan’ does not use EVMs, Akhilesh addressed the media to talk about how it was not just the ‘question of a political party’ Rather, it was the question of ‘having trust in democracy’, he said.
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati has also expressed her concerns in the matter. While it is possible to ‘validate ballot papers’, such an option is not available in the case of EVMs, Mayawati noted. The BSP leader has demanded that the ECI use ballot papers for the upcoming elections in May. She further added that the EVM tampering has led to the erosion of public confidence as the BJP came to power not only at the Centre but also in most of the states. People felt that ‘their vote was no longer theirs’, Mayawati stated.
