Foreign Press Assn distances itself from EVM hacking claim as BJP slams Cong for sponsoring National Herald writer to the event

Foreign Press Association, one of the organisers of the event, has distanced itself from the unsubstantiated claims made by Syed through a Skype-conference masking his face.

The association tweeted: "The Foreign Press Association strongly disassociates itself with any claims made by the speaker Syed Shuja during the #IJA event in London yesterday. Not one of the masked speaker’s accusations have so far been corroborated."

The group’s director, Deborah Bonetti, said the cyber expert should not have been given a platform.

"The speaker at yesterday’s event #IJA did not follow up his claims with any proof. He was not credible and should not have been given a platform," Deborah tweeted recently.

BJP leader and union minister Ravi Shankar also slammed the Congress accusing that Indian Journalists' Association (IJA) head Ashish Ray - who organised a press conference in London - was a Congressman on a sponsored trip to London and has been a contributor to Congress mouthpiece National Herald.

As London-based Indian journalists raised serious questions about the event’s content, IJA president Ashis Ray said both FPA and IJA organised the event “in good faith”, and noted the FPA distancing itself from the event, reported Hindustan Times.

Ray told the newspaper that the individual, who spoke through Skype from a location said to be in the United States and made a series of unsubstantiated allegations, is a “radio frequency engineer Syed Hyder Ahmed (also known as Syed Shuja)”.

He added: “Admittedly, the accusations made by Ahmed were very serious, which he could not substantiate. He left a roomful of scribes highly sceptical, if not annoyed.”

He said: “The picture he painted of what allegedly occurred in Hyderabad in May 2014 was clearly chilling. A proper inquiry would perhaps unearth if his charges are true or false."

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday questioned the presence of Congress leader Kapil Sibal in the EVM hackathon event held in London and alleged that it was organized by the grand old party of the country.

At the news conference in London, Syed Shuja, a US-based "cyber expert" who claimed he was a part of the team which designed the EVMs used in India, said the 2014 general elections in India were rigged.

Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad questioned the presence of the Congress leader in the event and said in a press conference: "In what capacity was Kapil Sibal present at the EVM hackathon event? Is the Congress-sponsored event designed to defame the popular mandate of India?."

"The Congress party has already started finding a reason to state for the defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls," he said.

 
EC denies allegations:

The Election Commission of India has denied allegations by an "expert" - in a news conference in London - that the electronic voting machines (EVMs) used in Indian elections can 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.