Delhi Assembly passes resolution for use of paper ballots, VVPAT

AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj stages in the Delhi Assembly a live “demo of EVM tampering”; Election Commission disowns the machine used.

May 09, 2017 12:18 pm | Updated 07:02 pm IST

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia speaks during a debate on EVMs in the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia speaks during a debate on EVMs in the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday.

The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday staged in the Delhi Assembly a “live demonstration of EVM manipulation.” AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj claimed that anyone knowing a “secret code” can tamper with the EVMs and the code can be fed into a machine while casting vote. The Election Commission of India has time and again rubbished allegations that EVMs can be programmed to favour any particular party.

Before Mr. Bhardwaj’s “demonstration”, Mr. Kejriwal tweeted, “Saurabh Bhardwaj will reveal the truth behind a big conspiracy in the country. Satyameva Jayate”.

Mr. Bhardwaj, who represents the Greater Kailash constituency, claimed that in his capacity as an engineer, he had extensively worked in this area and was aware of how the machines can be fiddled with.

Earlier in the day, sacked Minister Kapil Mishra knocked the CBI doors to file bribery complaints against Mr. Kejriwal and his Cabinet colleagues.

Here are the updates:

6.20 p.m.: Delhi Assembly after passing resolution on use of paper ballots and VVPAT, adjourns sine die.

5.45 p.m.: Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia attacks the BJP, saying, “You [the BJP] didn't win U.P. polls or in Delhi. This [the EVM] did. “Saurabh Bhardwaj deserves a standing ovation for his demonstration.”

(And Mr. Bhardwaj gets a standing ovation). 

AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj speaks in the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday after giving a “demo” on EVM tampering.

AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj speaks in the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday after giving a “demo” on EVM tampering.

                    

Mr. Sisodia says: “Saurabh has demonstrated the tampering process for the common man, demystifying it for good. Not just other parties but even the ‘owner’ of this democracy needs to sit up and take notice of what has happened here today. Free and fair elections are the soul of India. We raised the issue of EVMs only after an election candidate in Mumbai demanded where his family's votes went.

“I salute the journalists who reported issues with EVMs despite threats to their lives. Now it's necessary not just to speak out but to do something EVMs. Whenever we raised the issue of EVMs, the answers were the same, the defence was a single line denial. Ninety seconds is all it takes under the nose of your police, your bureaucracy by engineers from a company that you [the Centre] own [to hack EVMs before elections]. Just let us inside the government store room with the EVMs in Gujarat [which will go to the polls] and we will hack them if you wish''.

5.35 p.m.: Mr. Bhardwaj moves motion on use of paper ballots and VVPAT machines in all elections in the country.

5.25 p.m.: Mangolpuri MLA Rakhi Birla says, “We need to find ways to keep democracy safe in this country. Trouble is all you want but you won't be able to buy people from the AAP or finish it off because people believe in us. Your drama of EVMs being hackproof has been ended today, all claims shattered. What man makes, man hacks. We are followers of honesty and will prove rigging at the EC as here. Falsehood & dictatorship do not last long. Fight to save our constitution, democracy. Historically India ha elected gems now we elect those with money & muscle why?”

5.05 p.m.: Malviya Nagar MLA and former Minister Somnath Bharti says tampering of EVMs is an issue which only the AAP could have brought to the fore.

4.50 p.m.: SAD's Manjinder Singh Sirsa says EVMs weren't responsible for the AAP's defeat but their own deeds were. People have given AAP the defeat it suffered because it didn't fulfil the promises it made to them. Your Ministers have cases against them... Your Chief Minister has been accused of accepting Rs. 2 crore by a member of this House. The truth is bitter and difficult to digest, The people who promised alternative politics, are talking about #EVMs, why are silent on their own drunk MPs from Punjab.”

4.40 p.m.: Delhi Assembly session restarts after half-an-hour tea break. Shalimar Bagh MLA Bandana Kumari continues discussion on EVMs. “The tampering of EVMs demonstrated today illustrates the loss of the people of the country,” she says.

 

4.25 p.m.: Mr. Mishra says the “demo on EVM tampering” is an attempt to divert the attention of people.

4.10 p.m.: Assembly proceedings adjourned for tea. 

3.50 p.m.: BJP MLA Jagdish Pradhan speaks.

3.35 p.m.: Mr. Bhardwaj says, “The report by the Election Commission of Endia (ECI) on the Bhind incident makes no sense. On what basis are they arguing that EVMs can't be tampered.  I've 10 years of programming experience in embedded systems. I challenge any scientist to explain what happened in Bhind. The BJP has given both me and Mr. Kejriwal to put our knowledge of engineering to use. It takes just 90 seconds to change [an EVM's] motherboard.” 

3.24 p.m.: After he punched in a code, Mr. Bhardwaj “demonstrates” there is a difference between the votes tendered and the results on the test EVM.

AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj during his “demonstration” against EVM tampering, in the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday.

AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj during his “demonstration” against EVM tampering, in the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday.

 

3.15 p.m.: Mr. Bhardwaj shows "secret codes" that were used to tamper the EVM he is testing. He punches in one of the “secret codes”. Which candidate is winning can be discerned and who “should be made to win” can be decided at any time, he says.  He punches in additional votes using different buttons.

AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj “demonstrates” EVM tampering, in Delhi Assembly on Tuesday.

AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj “demonstrates” EVM tampering, in Delhi Assembly on Tuesday.

3.13 p.m: Election Commission responds. saying any EVM which goes out of the security zone of the ECI is no longer an EVM of the Commission, meaning the machine used by the AAP for demo in the Delhi Assembly is not that of the poll body, reports Devesh K. Pandey.

3.05 p.m.: Mr. Bhardwaj presses each of the five buttons representing different political parties on the EVM twice, votes to now be counted.

3 p.m.:  “Today I want to show how a machine on which the faith of the country rests can be tampered by an ordinary engineer like me,” Mr. Bhardwaj says.

AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj “demonstrates” EVM tampering, in Delhi Assembly on Tuesday.

AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj “demonstrates” EVM tampering, in Delhi Assembly on Tuesday.

 

2.55 p.m.: Mr. Bhardwaj walks in with an EVM to “expose” that they could be tampered.

AAP MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj displays an EVM during his “demo” on tampering in the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday.

AAP MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj displays an EVM during his “demo” on tampering in the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday.

 

2.50 p.m.: Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly Vijender Gupta sits in a dharna after he was marshalled out of the House.

2.40 p.m.: AAP MLA Naresh Yadav : “There will come a time when people will remember Mr. Kejriwal and the AAP for raising their voice against EVMs.”

2.27 p.m.:Chandni Chowk MLA Alka Lamba speaks on EVMs.

Chandni Chowk MLA Alka Lamba speaks in the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday.

Chandni Chowk MLA Alka Lamba speaks in the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday.

“We made repeated trips to the State Election Commission over the issue of EVMs, but they were still used in the civic polls,” she says. “Why are you afraid of letting scientists examine your machines if they can't be tampered?”

“The tampering in U.P. has shown that conspiracies are being hatched in our democracy,” she says. “With verdicts of the Bombay and Uttarakhand High Courts, there must be some substance in allegations against EVMs. We were accused of pointing at EVMs because of our loss in MCD polls, and we are doing the same here today because it's a serious issue. We have chosen to raise the issue of EVMs in the Delhi Assembly today, because it is a grave one,'' she says.

2.25 p.m.: Speaker asks marshalls to escort Mr. Gupta out of the House. “Mr. Gupta is LoP but doesn't understand the sanctity of his post,” he says.

2.22 p.m.: Speaker suspends Mr. Gupta from the House for the day.

BJP's Vijender Gupta, after he was suspended from the special session of the Delhi Assembly.

BJP's Vijender Gupta, after he was suspended from the special session of the Delhi Assembly.

 

2.20 p.m.: Verbal confrontation between Mr. Goel and Mr. Gupta continues. Mr. Goel tells newly elected BJP MLA from Rajouri Garden Manjinder Singh Sirsa: “It’s your first day, please sit, don't force my hand."

2.14 p.m.: Speaker Ram Niwas Goel disallows attempts by Opposition to raise issues related to corruption, asks Vijender Gupta to sit down. “The issue before me today is of significance to the country and every one of its citizens,” he says.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal arrives for special Assembly session on Tuesday.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal arrives for special Assembly session on Tuesday.

 

2.12 p.m.: BJP’s Vijender Gupta raises issues of corruption and is confronted by the Speaker.

1.40 p.m.: The Delhi BJP will lead a delegation to the Election Commission of India office at 4 p.m. over fund irregularities by the AAP, State unit president Manoj Tiwari said.

Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari addresses a press meet over alleged fund irregularities by the Aam Aadmi Party, in New Delhi on Tuesday. V.V. Krishnan

Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari addresses a press meet over alleged fund irregularities by the Aam Aadmi Party, in New Delhi on Tuesday.

 

1.30 p.m.: Mr. Mishra files three complaints with the CBI seeking a probe against Mr. Kejriwal and his Cabinet colleagues. As earlier disclosed by Mr. Mishra, the first complaint is against Mr. Kejriwal and Mr. Satyendar Jain on his charge that he was an eye-witness to ₹2 crore exchanging hands.

The second complaint alleges that Mr. Jain helped some close relatives of Mr. Kejriwal in some land deal, while the third seeks investigation into the foreign trips made by AAP leaders in the past two years.

Sacked Delhi Water Minister Kapil Mishra arrives at the CBI headquarters to submit evidence in the alleged water tanker scam, in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Sacked Delhi Water Minister Kapil Mishra arrives at the CBI headquarters to submit evidence in the alleged water tanker scam, in New Delhi on Tuesday.

 

 

12.15 p.m.: Mr. Mishra reaches the CBI office to file complaints of alleged corruption and malpractice by Mr. Kejriwal and his Cabinet colleague Satyendar Jain.

Earlier in the day he tweeted:

 

12.08 p.m: Delhi BJP Yuva Morcha workers stage a protest demanding the resignation of Mr. Kejriwal on Tuesday.

Delhi BJP Yuva Morcha workers stage a protest demanding resignation of Mr. Kejriwal, in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Delhi BJP Yuva Morcha workers stage a protest demanding resignation of Mr. Kejriwal, in New Delhi on Tuesday.

 

12.05 p.m.: Setting the stage for today's events, Mr. Kejriwal says in a tweet: “The truth behind a very big conspiracy going on in the country will be unveiled by [Greater Kailsah MLA] Saurabh Bhardwaj in the Delhi Assembly today.”

 

On Monday, Mr. Mishra was suspended from the party’s primary membership, a day after he levelled corruption charges against Mr. Kejriwal and Mr. Jain.

 

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.