Dismissing concerns over tampering with Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), Union law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday that no manipulation can be done with the voting machines and the new EVMs that leave voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) will be brought in a phased manner.
Replying to the ‘marathon’ short-duration discussion on the Electoral Reforms, the Minister said that as on date roughly 60,000 VVPAT EVMs are ready while they are needed at 16 lakh booths in the country that cater to 85 core voters.
“The Supreme Court has asked the Election Commission of India to do it in a phased manner. There are logistical issues in it including the high costs, safety and security of the new machines,” Prasad said. He added that while the manufacturing cost of the older EVMs were Rs 17,000 the new ones will cost the exchequer Rs 22,500 each. “The machines are made only by two PSUs -BEl and ECIl - and the Government cannot include any private sector in its manufacturing,” he added.
The Minister countered Opposition’s claims that the EVMs were tampered during the recent Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh by saying that why is the question raised after Bharatiya Janata Party’s victory and not before that. “If BJP was so powerful to manipulate EVMs then it would have come to power in Delhi, Punjab and Bihar too. Why did you not complain whenIJ EVMs are time tested machines that have helped you win, and they have now helped us win. There is no question of any tampering in it,” the minister said.
To prove his point he cited several reports of technical committee that have from time to time ruled out any tampering or hacking of the chip in it. “The EVMs are not linked to internet. Hence, they cannot be hacked,” Prasad added.
However, unsatisfied by his response Bahujan Samajwadi Party member Satish Mishra and Congress' leader Ghulam Nabi Azad argued that the government was deliberately not providing funds to the Election Commission of India to upgrade the old EVMs that have outlived their life of 10 years.