“I have spent about 60 years in the forefront of electronics, telecom,IT, software, complex systems and a lot more. I have studied EVM system carefully and believe that it is possible to manipulate.The best approach is the traditional paper ballot to count as casted,” he said in a post on X.
Sam Pitroda, a renowned figure in the telecommunications industry, tendered his resignation as the chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, last month. Pitroda’s decision to step down followed a controversial statement he made on Wednesday, where he said, “people of the east look like the Chinese and those of the south look like Africa.”
In a recent post on X, Elon Musk expressed his concerns about electronic voting machines, stating that they should be eliminated due to the risk of being hacked by humans or AI, even if the risk is small.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi echoed the Tesla CEO’s concerns and warned that when institutions lack accountability, democracy risks becoming a mere facade, susceptible to fraudulent activities.
In response to Musk’s post on X, a senior Election Commission (EC) functionary expressed disappointment that the EVM methodology in India is being questioned, despite its systematic evolution and acceptance, with the highest court consistently ruling in its favor.
“Also, the electoral system in the US does not provide for a watchdog at par with the Election Commission of India that has its duties clearly laid out in Article 324 of the Constitution,” the functionary said.
The EC functionary explained that each state in the US could choose its voting methodology and these ranged from paper ballot to direct recording electronic (DRE) systems with or without a paper trail.
The opposition parties have been raising concerns over EVMs for some time now and had demanded a 100 per cent count of the VVPAT slips which was not allowed.