In order to prevent tampering of EVMs, on Monday the Maharashtra Congress has demanded that jammers be installed in strongrooms, where electronic voting machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) boxes are stored.
According to the Hindustan Times, State Congress chief Ashok Chavan led a delegation of leaders Bhai Jagtap, Naseem Khan and Baba Siddique to meet Maharashtra chief electoral officer Ashwani Kumar to suggest “preventive measures” for a “free and fair” election. State Congress President Ashok Chavan said that since there were fears of EVM tinkering through mobile towers or WiFi networks in the vicinity of the strongrooms, each such place should be fitted with jammers.
While addressing media after leading a delegation of top party leaders, Chavan said that many people have raised their doubts over the safety of the strongrooms and the possibility of tampering with the EVMs stored there. “If such a thing indeed happens, it would pose a grave risk to democracy. It is necessary that the election process remains neutral, and hence it is imperative for the EC to implement suitable measures to enhance the security of the strongrooms,” Chavan pointed out.
Another demand raised by the Congress pertained to declaring the outcome of each round of counting and only thereafter taking up counting for the next round and to count the votes four times if any EVM was under suspicion. Reiterating its demand for verifying the votes cast with the VVPATs, Chavan said the candidates must be allowed to decide which EVMs should be verified with the voting slips (VVPATs). A senior EC official told the Hindustan Times, “It is not possible to hack it. If that were the case, there would have been attempts to do so earlier. The fears seem unfounded, but the final decision will be taken by the CEO.”