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Electronic voting machines are being treated like “football”, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said on Friday in the wake of political parties expressing apprehensions on the working of EVMs.
“EVMs are being used for the past over two decades. If we take results of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls into account, the results of the Delhi Assembly polls, four months after, were different.
“We have made EVMs football, knowingly or unknowingly... If the result is X, then EVMs are okay, and if it is Y, then EVMs are faulty,” Arora said.
He was also asked about the Election Commission’s view on the apprehensions raised by political parties over the functioning of EVMs.
“We have taken cognisance of sentiments of people and started the use of VVPAT (voter-verifiable paper audit trail). There were some problems initially, but arrangements have been made (for its use),” Arora said.
CEC defends EVMs
Defending the use of EVMs, the CEC said, “these (EVMs) are made by highly-secure companies — Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), which are involved in making defence equipment.”
He said a technical advisory committee is there to keep an eye on EVM arrangements.
“It has decisive powers, which even the EC did not have. This committee has the best of scientists. Therefore, there are no chances of doubts,” Arora said.
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