Taking a serious view of an event held in London which claimed that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) can be tampered with, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday stated that it is considering legal action. The ECI maintained that the machines are built in adherence to ‘rigorous Standard Operating Procedures’.
Speaking on the EVM Hackathon held in London recently where it was claimed that EVMs used by the ECI can be meddled with, the Election Commission stated that it is looking into ‘what legal action can and should be taken’ in this regard. It further added that these machines are built by Bharat Electronics Ltd and Electronics Corporation of India Ltd under ‘very strict supervisory and security conditions’. A Committee of ‘technical experts’ constituted in 2010 supervises the process, the statement read. Weary of being dragged into a ‘motivated slugfest’, the ECI has stated that it stands by the ‘empirical facts’ on how ‘foolproof’ the EVMs are.
Causing more political turmoil is the reported presence of Kapil Sibal at the said event. Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has levied accusation against UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and president Rahul Gandhi of sending Sibal to the event with definite intent. Calling it ‘no accident’, Naqvi has accused the Congress of compromising the good name of the nation’s democratic system. The presence of Kapil Sibal at the London Hackathon is being viewed by the BJP as a ‘hacking horror show’ being played out to offset the impending defeat of the opposition in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
