The ongoing controversy highlights the anticipation between technological advancements in electoral processes...
Digital Desk: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi raised serious concerns over the transparency of India's electoral process on Sunday, criticizing Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) as opaque systems that lack scrutiny. Gandhi’s comments come amidst a broader debate on the integrity of EVMs in elections both in India and abroad. Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk has also recently called for a ban on these devices in the context of US Presidential elections, citing irregularities reported in Puerto Rico polls.
"EVMs in India are a black box which nobody is allowed to scrutinize. Serious concerns are being raised about transparency in our electoral process. Democracy ends up becoming a sham and prone to fraud when institutions lack accountability," Gandhi asserted, sharing a media report on social media.
The report by Midday highlighted a controversial incident involving a relative of a Shiv Sena candidate in Maharashtra who allegedly possessed a phone capable of unlocking an EVM.
"During investigations, the Vanrai police have found that the accused Mangesh Pandilkar, relative of Ravindra Waikar- Shiv Sena candidate who won the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha seat by 48 votes, was using the phone which was connected to the Electronic Voting Machine (EVMs). Police said this mobile phone was used for generating the OTP that unlocked the EVM machine, which was used inside the NESCO Centre on June 4," it stated.
Gandhi on Sunday quoted a post by Elon Musk on X (formerly Twitter), in which the tech mogul advocated for the elimination of EVMs. "The risk of being hacked by humans or AI, while small, is still too high," Musk stated.
This debate has been gaining momentum in India, with opposition parties demanding a full count of the VVPAT slips along with the EVM votes, a request that was not granted.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav echoed Gandhi’s sentiments, suggesting that technology should solve problems rather than create them. "If technology itself becomes the cause of trouble, it should be stopped. When world-renowned technology experts are openly writing about the risks of tampering with EVMs, why insist on their use? We reiterate our demand to conduct all upcoming elections using paper ballots," Yadav said.
Responding to this, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia asserted that the former Congress president cannot have it both ways. "You can't have it both ways where if you win EVMs are a hero while if you lose EVMs are zero. People understand this policy of the Congress," he remarked.
Meanwhile, in response to Musk's concerns, former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar defended the robustness of Indian EVMs, highlighting their unique design. "Indian EVMs are custom-designed, secure, and isolated from any network or media - no connectivity, no Bluetooth, wifi, Internet. They are factory-programmed controllers that cannot be reprogrammed," Chandrasekhar explained, offering to provide a tutorial for Musk.
Musk retorted, "Anything can be hacked," to which Chandrasekhar conceded the technical possibility but differentiated between theoretical and practical threats. "Technically, you're right - anything is possible with enough resources and technology. But this is different from EVMs being secure and reliable compared to paper voting."
BJP National Spokesperson Nalin Kohli criticized the Congress for what he described as a negative narrative. "Despite the Congress party increasing its seats in the 2024 (Lok Sabha) elections, they continue to raise questions on the functioning of EVMs. This shows their only agenda is an agenda of negativity," Kohli remarked.
Figures like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the United States have been pushing for a return to paper ballots to ensure election integrity. The ongoing controversy highlights the anticipation between technological advancements in electoral processes and the need for absolute transparency and trust in democratic systems.
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