* Haryana, Jharkhand to use similar machines
Neeraj Rohmetra
Jammu, Sept 4: In a strong rebuttal of the propaganda unleashed by political parties in State regarding Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) from Gujarat to be used in forthcoming Assembly polls, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has categorically stated that the machines are tamper-proof and can’t be manipulated at any stage owing to technical and administrative safeguards.
Besides, the EVMs have withstood the scrutiny of several Courts of the Country. Even the process of shifting of EVMs to States, where elections are slated to be held is being done as per the established Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trial (VVPAT) system as per the mandate given by the Supreme Court of India.
Moreover, the States of Haryana and Jharkhand are also going to use the same make of EVMs in the upcoming elections to their Legislative Assemblies as is being done in case of Jammu and Kashmir.
These disclosures have been made by the ECI in an official communication to the State bearing number F.No. 51/8/16/9/2014- EMS, which is in possession of EXCELSIOR. The letter, written by Secretary ECI, K N Bhar has issued point-wise rebuttal of the false propaganda unleashed by several regional parties of the Sate including Congress, National Conference, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Panthers Party that EVMs from Gujarat were being used in J&K elections to favour a party.
Refuting the allegation of shifting of EVMs ‘manufactured’ in Gujarat, the ECI letter says, “EVMs being used by the ECI aren’t manufactured by any Gujarat based Company; they are manufactured by two Public Sector Undertakings of Government of India namely M/s Bharat Electronics (BEL), Bangalore and M/s Electronic Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), Hyderabad”, adding, “these machines are tamper-proof and therefore have not been manipulated in any election nor there is any scope of manipulating it due to inbuilt safeguards. They (the EVMs) are simply being shifted from Gujarat to J&K”.
To a specific query about details of manufacturers/ exporters of EVMs of Gujarat to J&K, the ECI has said, “there is no manufacturer of EVMs in Gujarat and no services of any manufacturer are being utilised in other States during the forthcoming polls”.
Referring to the State of Jammu and Kashmir specifically, the letter elaborates, “It is important to mention that Jammu and Kashmir has been using BEL make Post -2006 EVMs for a long time including recently completed General Elections – 2014 and they have been proved completely tamper-proof in every election.”
“That is why BEL make Post -2006 EVMs are being shifted from other States, as these are compatible to VVPAT Systems. This is being done with a view to use VVPAT system in some selected constituencies according to the mandate given by Supreme Court of India”, it added.
The letter says, “even the States of Haryana and Jharkhand are also going to use same make of EVMs (i.e Post – 2006 BEL) in upcoming elections to their Legislative Assemblies”.
Allaying fears of ‘rigging’ polls by misuse of EVMs, the ECI said, “the machines are completely tamper-proof and cannot be manipulated at any stage owing to its technical and administrative safeguard”, adding, “you may rest assured that the Commission will take all steps to ensure that the integrity of EVMs in your State”.
Asked who are the manufacturers of the EVMs chosen for assigning the task, the Commission said, “as per the decision made by the Government of India in consultation with ECI, BEL and ECIL are the two authorized Public Sector Undertakings working under the Ministry of Defence Production and Department of Atomic Energy for manufacture, supplies and maintenance of Indian Electronic Voting Machines all over India”.
Emphasising the fact that the EVMs had withstood scrutiny of several Courts of the Country, the letter says, “in the past, several Court have upheld the use of EVMs. The Madras High Court, after elaborate consideration of the issue in a batch of petitions in 2001, rejected allegations that the EVMs could be tampered with. In the year 2002, the Kerala High Court upheld the use of these machines. The Karnataka High Court in a decision in 2005 came to the similar conclusion after examining some experts”.
“Since, their introduction in the year 1982 on pilot basis, EVMs were used in all bye-elections/ General Elections to Parliamentary and Legislative Assemblies held since 2000 and in country wide General Elections to the Lok Sabha in 2004 and 2009”, the document says.
Elaborating over the procedure adopted to ensure tamper-proof functioning of EVMs, the letter says, “the EVMs undergo First Level Checking, First Level Randomization and Second Level Randomization before use in any election. These activities are done in the presence of authorized representatives of contesting candidates of political parties. Apart from this, the mock poll activity is done, in the presence of authorized representatives of the political parties”.
“Minimum 5% of EVMs are randomly selected at the time of First Level Checking of EVMs by casting 100 votes in every machine. Thereafter, sequential print out of the votes cast is also taken and result is demonstrated before the representatives of the Political parties. Subsequently, in next stage minimum 5% of randomly selected EVMs are selected at the time of Preparation of EVMs by casting 100 votes in every machine. Thereafter sequential print out of the votes cast is also taken and result is demonstrated before the representatives of the contesting candidates”, says the letter.
Only the EVMs, which are found functioning properly, are used in polls and the unique serial number of every EVM is also provided to the election agents of the contesting candidate.
Follow our WhatsApp channel