ECIL says Shuja wasn't involved with EVM development
New Delhi, Jan 22 (IBNS): Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) has said Syed Shuja, the "cyber expert" who claimed India's electronic voting machines (EVMs) could be hacked and they had in fact been hacked to the benefit of the BJP in the 2014 general elections, had not been a regular employee of the company and that he was not involved in the development of the EVMs between 2009 and 2014, media reports said.
"The records of this company have been verified and it is found that Mr Syed Shuja has neither been in the rolls of ECIL as a regular employee nor was he in any way associated in the design and development of EVMs in ECIL produced between 2009 to 2014," India Today quoted a letter by ECIL chairman and managing director Rear Adm. (retd) Sanjay Chaudey to deputy election commissioner Sudeep Jain.
The Election Commission of India on Tuesday sought to file an FIR in the case of Indian "cyber expert" named Syed Shuja claiming that the electronic voting machines (EVMs) used in India could be tampered with, said media reports.
Shuja had even claimed - at a news conference held in London on Monday where he spoke through Skype from an undisclosed location in the US - that the BJP had rigged the 2014 elections to secure the huge win.
Mayawati wants EVMs banned:
BSP chief Mayawati on Tuesday demanded that EVMs be immediately banned and ballot papers be reintroduced in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
In a statement released on Tuesday as quoted by News18, Mayawati said: “The mystery of EVM is now more serious after a London-based cyber expert claimed that EVMs were hacked in 2014 Lok Sabha polls. In the interest of the country, EVMs should be immediately banned. The tactic of ‘Vote Hamara, Raj Tumhara’ won’t work anymore and this issue should be resolved immediately.”
EVMs should be immediately banned: BSP chief Mayawati demands before Lok Sabha polls“For free and fair elections, ballot papers should be brought back as they can be verified unlike the EVM votes. Taking into consideration the recent hacking controversy, the upcoming elections should be conducted using ballot papers instead of EVMs,” the BSP chief said.
EC denies allegations:
The Election Commission of India had denied Shuja's allegations that the electronic voting machines (EVMs) used in Indian elections could be tampered with.
"The ECI firmly stands by the empirical facts about foolproof nature of ECI EVMs deployed in elections in India," the commission said.
"It needs to be reiterated that these EVMs are manufactured in Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) under very strict supervisory and security conditions and there are rigorous Standard Operating Procedures meticulously observed at all stages under the supervision of a Committee of eminent technical experts constituted way back in 2010," it added.
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