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EVM hackathon: No clarity given by Election Commission, there should not be guidelines, says AAP leader Sanjay Singh

Following The Chief Election Commissioner’s Open Challenge To All Political Parties To Hack Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), Aam Aadmi Party Leader Sanjay Singh Said That There Is No Clarity From Election Commission Regarding The Hackathon.

News Nation Bureau | Edited By : Ashish Ranjan | Updated on: 20 May 2017, 10:47:42 PM
AAP leader Sanjay Singh (Image: PTI)

New Delhi:

Following the Chief Election Commissioner’s open challenge to all political parties to hack Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh said that there is no clarity from Election Commission regarding the hackathon.

Sanjay requested Election Commission to not impose any restrictions on tampering of EVMs. He emphasised that there are 100 ways to hack an EVM which has already been shown by AAP in Delhi Assembly.

Sanjay said that representatives from AAP will meet EC in next two days and demand clarity over hackathon. He said that the person doing tampering EVM should not operate on the guidelines of EC.

“We will meet EC and say that if you impose guidelines during hackathon then it will be like restricting people from doing it. Hacking can also be done by changing motherboard. Dr Nasim Zaidi is sitting on the same chair on which reformist like TN Seshan once sat,” said Sanjay Singh. 

“Setting conditions for hacking EVMs is akin to asking someone to swim with his hands and legs tied,” senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh said.

“In our demonstration, we showed how to change the motherboard of an EVM, but the EC has put a restriction on that ... If you do not allow people to explore the machines and remove the chip, then how can one prove that it can be hacked.

“Those who want to hack EVMs will not tell the EC how will they go about it. Give people a chance to open the machines and its parts,” he said.

Singh said an AAP delegation would meet officials of the Election Commission to have more clarity on the proposed event on June 3.

Earlier in the day, the Chief Election Commissioner of India Dr Nasim Zaidi threw open challenge to all national and state political parties to tamper Electronic Voting Machines from June 3 onwards.

The Chief Election Commissioner of India said that EVM Challenge is open to national and state parties as they can nominate 3 authorised persons. He also said that they will need to confirm their interest by 5 pm on 26 May.

Nasim said that ECI through this challenge will restore & enhance, faith & confidence of voters in EVM voting system.

The announcement came over a week after the Election Commission threw down the gauntlet to political parties to prove that the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) used in the recent assembly polls were tampered with.

He said people who had questioned reliability of EVMs have not yet submitted any proof or credible material to support their claim.
Zaidi said replacement of the internal circuit of EVMs is not possible at all.

“Our EVMs have strong technological features and are tamper-proof,” he said.

Zaidi rubbished the Aam Aadmi Party’s claim that EVMs could be tampered with, and said no manipulation of the machines is possible.
He also said that improving the election process is a responsibility of all stakeholders and the EC is taking all necessary steps in this regard.

Also read: EVM hackathon: CEC throws open challenge to all national, state political parties to prove tampering from June 3 onwards

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First Published : 20 May 2017, 07:18:00 PM

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