AAP turmoil live: Delhi assembly adopts resolution on EVMs after ‘hacking’ demo

New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday dared the Election Commission to provide an EVM to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), claiming that it can be tampered with in 90 seconds flat.

During a day-long special sitting of the Delhi Assembly today, AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj put on a “live demonstration” on how electronic voting machines can be programmed to favour any political party.

“He (Bhardwaj) showed how easy it is to hack EVMs and it is being done on a massive scale. It is dangerous for the democracy and the country, and people should raise their voice against it. The ECI can give us its machines, we will show how to hack it in 90 seconds by merely changing its motherboard,” Kejriwal told reporters outside the assembly.

Bhardwaj claimed that a voting machine can be manipulated by simply feeding it with a “secret code”. The Election Commission, which maintains that EVMs cannot be programmed to favour any party, did not officially react. However, sources said the machine “did not” seem to be among the ones that are used during elections.

Meanwhile, the crisis within the AAP deepened with rebel leader Kapil Mishra filing complaints against the Delhi CM with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He also attended the special session and minutes after AAP’s demonstration on EVM tampering called it “diversionary tactic” from the real issue of corruption. Mishra has also dared Kejriwal to fight against him in polls from the New Delhi assembly seat.

Mishra had on Monday accused Kejriwal of taking Rs2 crore in illegal cash from health minister Satyender Jain and delaying the probe in the tanker scam.

Here are the latest developments and live updates from the AAP:

■ 7pm: Delhi assembly adopts resolution appealing President and Election Commission to hold elections through paper trail equipped-EVMs. (PTI)

■ 6.30pm: Hitting out at the EC, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said that his party had proved that EVMs could be tampered with, and now every citizen should raise his/her voice against the use of these machines, CNN-News18 reported.

■ 5.30pm: Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari on Tuesday reached the Election Commission and filed a complaint, demanding the suspension of AAP’s membership. (CNN-News18)

■ 5pm: Former Delhi minister Kapil Mishra’s allegations will be examined: CBI (PTI)

■ 4.45pm: The EC will conduct a hackathon in the third week of May, says a CNN-News18 report.

Earlier after Bhardwaj’s demo on the EVMs tampering, Mishra said that the AAP has “lost mental balance” despite winning 67 seats from the same voting machines.

“We are proud of our election system. Just because you lost the elections, you would question the system. I have given my written statement to CBI,” the report quoted Mishra as saying.

■ 4.30pm: The Delhi BJP today stepped up its attack on the AAP, saying it will lodge a complaint with the Election Commission for the party’s alleged involvement in corruption cases and seek its derecognition.

The saffron party’s Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari, at a press conference, alleged that there were “gross discrepancies” in the figures of donation amount shown by the AAP in its affidavits, party website, and what it has declared to the EC.

“One private news channel has done an ‘expose on the AAP’ when it comes to donations received by it. And, there is ‘huge difference in the figures shown in its affidavit and what the Arvind Kejriwal-led party has told the EC,” he alleged.

“And, discrepancies exist in donation figures for both years, 2013-14 and 2014-15,” Tiwari said.

The Delhi BJP chief, read out figures, quoting from the channel’s claim. “So, in 2013-14, the AAP showed a donation amount of Rs50.64 crore in the affidavit, Rs19.82 crore on its party website, but to the EC it told that the figure stood at only Rs6 crore.

“We wonder if this missing amount was routed in the corruption cases against the party that its own (sacked) Cabinet minister has highlighted,” he alleged.

“So, based on the past and this new corruption case, a delegation of the party will go and meet the chief election commissioner at 4pm to lodge a complaint. We will also urge the EC to probe the entire accounts of the AAP. And based on the string of irregularities being exposed, we will also ask the EC to derecognise the party,” Tiwari said. (PTI)

■ 4.15pm: The AAP today staged a “live demonstration” of alleged EVM manipulation in the Delhi Assembly. AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj claimed that anyone knowing a “secret code” can tamper with the EVMs and the code can be fed into a machine while casting vote.

The Election Commission has time and again rubbished allegations that EVMs can be programmed to favour any particular party.

Bhardwaj, who represents the Greater Kailash constituency, claimed that in his capacity as an engineer, he had extensively worked in this area and was aware of how the machines can be fiddled with. (PTI)

■ 4pm: Sacked Delhi minister Kapil Mishra will record a “detailed” statement with regard to the Rs 400- crore tanker scam in the Delhi Jal Board with the Anti- Corruption Branch on Thursday. ACB chief Mukesh Kumar Meena confirmed the development.

Mishra will go the ACB office around noon on 11May to record his statement. The former Delhi water minister had yesterday submitted evidence to the ACB to back his allegation that chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his “two men” had influenced and delayed the probe into the scam which dates back to Sheila Dikshit’s tenure as CM.

Dikshit was in August last year “examined” by the ACB in connection with her alleged involvement in the scam and was handed over a set of 18 written questions.

Till some time ago, Mishra had been accusing the BJP of shielding Dikshit and yesterday he alleged that the AAP government tried to protect her.

The AAP government had in June 2015 set up a fact-finding committee to look into alleged irregularities in procuring around 385 stainless steel water tankers by the DJB. In June last year, it sent the panel’s report to then Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, following which an FIR was registered in the matter. (PTI)

■ 3.45pm: The Delhi unit of the BJP calls AAP’s demonstration on EVM tampering as publicity stunt in a tweet on Tuesday.

■ 3.30pm: AAP’s Saurabh Bhardwaj demonstrates in the Delhi assembly on how the EVMs can be tampered with. (Hindustan Times)

■ 3.15pm: Anna Hazare today said he would sit on an agitation to demand the resignation of Arvind Kejriwal if the allegations of corruption against the Delhi chief minister were proved. Hazare, however, also pointed out that former Delhi minister Kapil Mishra made the allegations of graft against Kejriwal only after he was sacked from the AAP dispensation.

“Whatever the former minister has said against Kejriwal, he said it only after his removal. If he was the minister when the alleged money exchange took place, why did not he alert the authorities?” the anti-corruption crusader asked.

“I think there should be a thorough investigation in this case. If Kejriwal is found guilty then I will personally sit on an agitation at Jantar Mantar and demand his resignation,” Hazare said at his residence in Ralegan Siddhi village of Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district.

The activist had earlier said he was pained to see Kejriwal, his “former colleague in the anti-corruption crusade”, facing allegations of accepting money. (PTI)

■ 2.45pm: AAP’s MLA Alka Lamba speaks on the issue of EVM tampering. She says, “In Chattarpur ward 70S total vote polled were 26,445 but EVM counted 26,884 votes. Our candidate lost in that ward by just two votes. My colleagues will present more proof.” (Hindustan Times)

TMC’s Sukhendu Sekhar, Congress’s Tehseen Poonawalla, RJD’s Manoj Jha and CPM’s Nilotpal Basu are in the gallery. (Hindustan Times)

■ 2.30pm: Leader of Opposition Vijendra Gupta marshalled out of Delhi Assembly during the special one-day session. Gupta tried to raise the issue of alleged corruption in land deals involving chief minister Kejriwal and PWD minister Satyendra Jain. Meanwhile, Gupta sat on a dharna in the assembly premises after being marshalled out from the session and demanded that both Kejriwal and Jain be jailed. (PTI)

Earlier, BJP tried moving an adjournment motion.

■ 2.15pm: CM Kejriwal reaches Delhi Vidhan Sabha for the special Assembly session. Other MLAs in attendance also includes suspended MLA Amanatullah Khan; Mishra too has reached the Assembly. AAP has invited TMC, JDU to be present in the gallery for the demonstration on EVM tampering in Assembly. (Hindustan Times)

■ 2pm: “I will sit on hunger strike if details of foreign trips by five AAP leaders are not released,” says Kapil Mishra after lodging complaint with CBI. (PTI) Read more

■ 1.40pm: Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari: “The Aam Aadmi Party has given false information to the Income Tax Department. The party’s own cabinet minister is ready to testify against them. Everyday a new corruption case is coming up against the Aam Aadmi Party. It is a well established fact that Arvind Kejriwal is a liar. Such blatant falsehoods should get a party derecognised,” says Manoj Tiwari.” (CNN-News18)

■ 1pm: Top AAP leaders Manish Sisodia, Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh and Arvind Kejriwal meet at the Delhi CM’s residence. (Hindustan Times)

■ 12.45pm: The Income Tax department on Tuesday reportedly issued a legal notice to the party for “discrepancies in donor’s list” it had submitted to tax officials, according to ABP News. The department said it had come across major discrepancies in the party’s donation records, as details of hundreds of people who donated more than Rs 20,000 to party are missing, the report says.

■ 12.30pm: Sacked Delhi minister Kapil Mishra on Tuesday wrote an open letter to his former “guru” chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to seek his blessings before filing a CBI case against him. Mishra also dared Kejriwal to fight elections against him from any seat of his choice.

“I am going to take up the biggest fight of my life against Kejriwal from whom I have learnt all these things. Before that, I seek your blessings for victory,” Mishra wrote.

The letter, posted on his Facebook page, added, “Do you have the courage to face the people? If you have any morality left, then accept my challenge. You can choose a seat. I am ready to resign from Karawal Nagar... if you fear losing power. But if you believe that the public will support you, let’s fight elections from your New Delhi seat.” (PTI)

■ 12.15pm: Mishra demands that AAP must make public the details of foreign trips by Raghav Chadha, Ashish Khetan, Sanjay Singh, Satyendar Jain and Durgesh Pathak. He threatens to sit on a hunger strike from Wednesday if these details are not made public.

Also read | The silence of Arvind Kejriwal

■ 12pm: BJP Delhi Youth Wing members hold protest outside chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s house. Delhi police use water canons as protesters attempt to cross barricades. (Hindustan Times)

■ 11.35am: Kejriwal tweeted that Saurabh Bhardwaj will expose a big conspiracy in the assembly today.

■ “Truth will triumph. Its beginning will be made during the special session of the Delhi Assembly tomorrow,” Kejriwal tweeted on Monday night amid turmoil in his party. His tweet came as Mishra, who was sacked by Kejriwal from his Cabinet last Saturday, intensified his attack on the AAP supremo, alleging that a Rs50 crore deal had been arranged for the chief minister’s brother-in-law.

Also read | Who is Kapil Mishra?

■ Mishra on Monday submitted documents to the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) against the chief minister in connection with the alleged water tanker scam. He said he has sought an appointment with the CBI on Tuesday to register a complaint. Mishra in a series of tweets also targeted Kejriwal and Jain, as more bitterness from the two sides, came out in the open.

■ The AAP, earlier in the day also alleged that a big conspiracy was being hatched against it by the BJP through Mishra and said chief minister Kejriwal would not resign over the “baseless allegations”. The party asserted that was Mishra was making such allegations against Kejriwal “out of desperation” after being expelled from the Cabinet.