EC rejects Mayawati’s charge, says EVMs tamper-proof

TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/The Election Commission today rejected as “baseless and wild” the charge of BSP supremo Mayawati that the electronic voting machines (EVMs) were tampered with and asserted these were “fully tamper-proof”. In a strongly-worded statement, the commission said, “Baseless, speculative and wild allegations are being made which deserve to be rejected.”

The sharp reaction of the poll panel came after Mayawati and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal claimed that the machines were tampered with in recently concluded Assembly elections in five states. The poll panel said it did not receive specific complaints or concrete material from political parties and candidates about alleged tampering of the EVMs during the election process, asserting that it is “fully satisfied with the integrity of electoral process using EVM”.

It said the BSP’s representation on EVM tampering was without any specific allegation and it had rejected the claim of the party. It did not mention Kejriwal in its statement. “Such concerns about alleged tamperability of ECI-EVM have been raised earlier also since their introduction including before high court and the Supreme Court. The EC’s rebuttal came a day after Mayawati said she will move court against the alleged tampering of the EVMs.