Amid the row over a self-styled expert alleging that EVMs could be tampered with, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Wednesday hit out at the Congress for joining hands with elements in a foreign country who claimed that electronic voting machines could be hacked.
She dared the Congress to step down from power in Madhya Pradesh where assembly elections were held recently.
A self-styled cyber expert had days ago claimed that EVMs could be hacked and alleged that the 2014 general elections were rigged.
To a question on Tamil Nadu Congress demanding an inquriy into claims that EVMs could be hacked following a hackathon in London recently, she told reporters here that "if they win, EVM is working properly, if they lose EVMs do not function properly, and that too in a foreign country."
The Defence Minister attacked the Congress for what she termed pursuing the path of weakening democracy. "This is an effort by the Congress to weaken democracy."
"The Congress party won the Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan Assembly elections only through the Electronic Voting Machine," she said and blamed the Rahul Gandhi-led party for changing stand on EVMs according to their convenience.
The Congress party should say they will step down from government in Madhya Pradesh since they won the polls through the EVMs.
"They should say that there should be some problem with the EVMs and that was why they won....otherwise they should say that they themselves manipulated the machines for their victory," she said.
She queried if the Congress manipulated EVMs for their victories in the past.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)