EC dares party to prove claim during hackathon

Election Commission of India dismissed the EVM hacking claims made by AAP during a demonstration in the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday.

Officials said any machine that is carried out without permission from the secured premises of the commission ceases to be an EVM that is used for polling. “If it is a prototype, then it is not the same as the EVM used by the commission. To say EVM can be hacked by manipulating a prototype is not the same ,” a source said.

Officials also said that if the EVM used during the demonstration in the Delhi Assembly has been illegally procured from its godown then a case will be filed against the AAP. “If it is proven that the machine is stolen, the FIR will be filed against the party,” the source told HT.

The commission will announce a date for organising a hackathon after an all party meeting on May 12. All recognised parties have been asked to nominate their representatives to the hackathon. “AAP should also send their representatives to the hacking challenge to prove their claims,” an EC official said.

Former Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla told HT that the authenticity of the machine used by AAP in the assembly is under question. “I have heard about the demonstration. But whose machine is it? Is it an EVM belonging to the EC? In EC machines, these kind of tampering can’t happen,” Chawla said.