EVM Manipulation not possible; EC committed to free and fair elections: Chief Election Commissioner O P Rawat

 

Addressing the late Rajendra Mathur Memorial lecture organized by Bhaskar group here Rawat mentioned that Election Commission of India is committed for free and fair elections.

The Chief Election Commissioner informed that the top election body is looking forward towards 100% hassle-free roll-out of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines.

Terming electronic voting machine as the safest mode of polling, Rawat maintained that no one could tamper the electronic voting machine. He further added that technical and research wing of EC is constantly monitoring the new trends in order to fine-tune the existing ecosystem.

Rejecting the claims of political parties, Rawat said that malfunctioning of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail system (VVPAT) does not mean the alleged tampering of EVM. The top officer expressed displeasure over linking of EC to a particular political party.

Taking a dig at political establishment, Rawat claimed people blaming EVMs had failed to substitute their claims on the functioning of voting machines. He maintained that the Election Commission of India will take all possible steps to address the issues raised by public representatives.

Shading light on the idea of “One Nation one election” coined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Chief Election Commissioner opined that simultaneous election is a taxing process, which requires amendment to the representation of the people act along with strong political will and consensus.

Underlining the problem of insufficient logistics, Rawat admitted that the mega project requires near about 44 lakhs EVMs but at present Election Commission has the limited stock of 15 lakh devices.

Expressing concern over the entry of multinational corporates like Cambridge Analytica, he observed that prevention of data breach and generation of fake news are the most challenging task for EC. The officer informed that with the help of a new digital platform, steps are being taken to monitor the suspicious developments.