Addressing a press conference on the upcoming Delhi Assembly Elections, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said that EVMs are not hackable and allegations of the Oppositions parties regarding tampering are totally baseless.
According to the CEC, EVMs are entirely tamper-proof which makes rigging and hacking impossible. "EVMs are not hackable. Every claim of manipulation has been thoroughly investigated and debunked. This technology has consistently upheld the principles of free and fair elections," Mr Kumar said.
EVM tampering: CEC cites court rulings
"On 42 different occasions, the judiciary has reaffirmed trust in EVMs. These machines represent years of technological evolution and are a matter of national pride", CEC Rajiv Kumar said.
"The preparation of electoral rolls is a transparent process involving political parties at every stage", he said while adding, "These allegations are baseless. Disclosure is our main pillar, and detailed guidelines and datasets are available on our website."
Back in November, dismissing a plea seeking restoration of the paper ballot voting system in elections in the country, the Supreme Court said that the Opposition raked up allegations of tampering with electronic voting machines (EVM) only when they lose polls.
"What happens is, when you win the election, EVMs are not tampered with. When you lose the election, EVMs are tampered (with)," remarked a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and P B Varale while hearing the plea filed by the petitioner K A Paul.
AAP vs BJP: EC on voter list manipulation row
Addressing concerns over the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) allegation of manipulation of voter lists against the BJP, an issue that has taken the center stage ahead of Delhi Assembly elections, Mr Kumar stressed that the Election Commission rigorously follows due process for any changes in voter lists.
The AAP earlier held the BJP accountable for voter list manipulation by deleting names in constituencies where it has a strong voter base.
Terming it 'Operation Lotus', AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal alleged that BJP sought to remove over 11,000 names from the voter list in the Shahdara Assembly segment.
However, the BJP has firmly denied these allegations, countering that AAP has been adding fake names to voter lists to inflate its support base.
