Ahead of announcement of the schedule for Assembly elections for Maharashtra and Jharkhand, opposition Congress alleged on Tuesday that electronic voting machines (EVMs) can be hacked, a charge strongly dismissed by the Chief Election Commission.
Speaking on Maharashtra and Jharkhand poll dates to be announced in the afternoon, Congress leader Rashid Alvi said,”In Maharashtra, the opposition should put pressure to insist on voting by paper ballot and not EVMs. Otherwise, in Maharashtra, BJP government and Election Commission can do anything.”
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He further said if a pager can be rigged, so can the EVMs. ”If Israel can kill people by use of pagers and walkie-talkies, then where does EVM stand? The PM has very good relations with Israel. Israel is an expert in such things. ‘EVM ka bada khel kahin bhi ho sakta hai aur uske liye BJP chunav se pehle yeh sab khel kar leti hai’ (A big game of this can happen anywhere and for that BJP plays all these games before the elections),” he charged.
Dismissing the charge, Chief Election Commissioner said Rajiv Kumar said public gives reply by voting in large numbers.
He said ”EVMs are totally reliable. Hundred per cent tamper-proof, which I have repeated many times previously.”
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, “The Election Commission has just announced that it will be making a press conference about Jharkhand and Maharashtra Assembly polls at 3:30 pm but even before they can announce the dates or the schedule or even the first vote is polled, Congress has given up.”
He said Congress’ Rashid Alvi and other leaders are saying if pagers can be hacked, then EVMs can also be hacked.
”They made the same bizarre claim in Haryana too. This means writing is on the wall. They have accepted defeat even before the polls have started in Maharashtra and Jharkhand…They have given up even before the elections have been started. It also is an admission that ‘EVM is a bahana, pariwar ko ek aur haar se hai bachana’..”
The Election Commission will announce the schedule for Assembly elections for Maharashtra and Jharkhand. The poll body officials have called for a press conference at 3.30 pm in the Plenary Hall, Vigyan Bhawan, Delhi to make the announcement of the schedule for the assembly polls in the two states.
The term of Maharashtra Assembly will end on November 26 while Jharkhand Assembly’s term will end on January 5, 2025.
