New Delhi: Nearly 42 petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court and various high courts questioning the electronic voting machines (EVMs), with the higher judiciary repeatedly holding that the machines are credible, reliable and tamper-proof, the government said in Lok Sabha on Friday.
Responding to a question on safeguards to prevent tampering or hacking of the machines, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said according to the Election Commission (EC), EVM is a standalone machine with no radio frequency communication capability, hence it cannot communicate through wireless, bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
“The machine is electronically protected to prevent any tampering or manipulation. It incorporates several technical security features such as one time programmable chip, unauthorised access detect module, advance encryption techniques, strong mutual authentication capability,” the minister said in a written reply.
After the Haryana assembly polls, Congress had questioned the reliability of the EVMs and had claimed that different levels of charging in the EVM battery gave different results.
The EC had rejected the complaint, saying the Congress was raising “smoke of generic doubt” poll after poll.
In his address during the Congress Working Committee meeting at the AICC headquarters here on Friday, party president Mallikarjun Kharge said he believes that the EVMs have made the electoral process “suspect” and stressed that it is the constitutional responsibility of the EC to ensure free and fair elections in the country.
Citing the EC, he said, “Approximately 42 petitions on EVM have been filed before various high courts and the Supreme Court. After going through various aspects of the technological soundness and the administrative measures involved in the use of EVMs, the courts have repeatedly held that EVMs are credible, reliable and tamper-proof,” he said.
In his reply, Meghwal also pointed out that the poll watchdog has put in place stringent and secure administrative procedures such as strict security protocols during storage and movement (24×7 CCTV, armed security, logbook and GPS-based vehicles), and opening and closing of EVM warehouse or strongroom during non-election period till counting is done in the presence of recognised political parties under videography.
One control unit, at least one ballot unit and one paper trail machine make up for one EVM.
