RTI discloser : tempering with EVM

With the outcome of elections in 5 states, various political parties began to allege the tempering with Electronic Voting Machine (EVM).with this disclosure  EVM tempering is becoming a big issue. AamAadmi Party have once again raised questions regarding the tempering of the  EVM. AamAadmi Party said on Sunday that now the Election Officer has admitted under the Right to Information that tempering happened in the elections, the vote of the Independent candidate had gone to the BJP. AAP said that now the BJP should admit it was not Modi wave, but the cheating wave. BJP has been winning all the elections with dishonesty by pre-planned setting of EVMs on a large scale and now the Election Commission should go for a high level inquiry setting aside all the pleas. Main spokesperson of AAP Saurabh Bhardwaj said in a tweet on bye-election in Maharashtra that it has been told in the reply to RTI that the votes polled by the Independent candidate had gone to the BJP. The case relates to BuldhanaZilaParishad elections. It has been confirmed by the Returning Officer. Contrary to the claims of the Election Commission, the tempering with EVMs in Maharashtra has been proved. RTI activist Anil Galgali said that EVM tempering has come to be known during the polling in Sultanpur village of Logar during recently held Parishad elections in Buldhana district of Maharashtra. Galgali said that whenever the voters pressed the Coconut button allotted to a candidate, the LED against the Lotus symbol of BJP used to blink. The Election Officer reported this to the District Magistrate, which was disclosed from the information from the RTI. After the complaints to the DM by many Election Officers from the constituency, polling at the polling was cancelled, and the polling booth was closed, the tempered EVM was sealed. Later on there was re-polling after five days on 21^stfebruary after cancelling the voting totally. Is the tempering in the EVM really possible? Why have the developed countries of the world not adopted it? It is well known at international level that the EVM is effected with discrepancies and it may be easily tempered with and the rocket science is not needed for it. In the round of advanced technology it has become much more sensitive issue. Europe and North America have already rejected it. Netherlands had banned the EVM referring the lack of transparency. Spending 51 million over its research, Ireland banned it for the sake of transparency. Germany also declared it as unconstitutional referring transparency in it and banning it said that tempering with it is easy. California in the US banned it for lacking paper trail. It will not be used in France and England too. On the other hand It is also true that no political party has so far not been able to produce a solid proof of EVM hacking. The Election Commission has always said that the machine is checked twice. It is checked and sealed before the candidate. Even before the counting the EVM is opened before the candidate. It may be noted that Supreme Court and High Court have earlier dismissed the complaints of tempering. The Election Commission had claimed that these machines are totally secured and there is no possibility of being tempered with. The Supreme Court has refused to give any order regarding the CBI inquiry in this case. Since the RTI has made a new disclosure, a new debate has begun on the EVM. The best option is to give Paper trail with the EVM. The Election Commission should give up its rudeness and manage all the elections with VVPAT in future to bring in transparency.Untamoerproof voting is the essence of democracy.

-          Anil Narendra