The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission (EC) regarding the electronic voting machine (EVM) tampering challenge, asking it to “reconsider” the terms of the challenge.
The memorandum submitted to Chief Election Commissioner Dr. Nasim Zaidi said, “We [AAP] would like to strongly urge you [EC] to consider the terms of the EVM challenge.”
‘Open hackathon needed’
The party has also asked the EC not to set any “rules and regulations” about participants not being allowed to tamper with the motherboard of the EVMs. The AAP said that an open hackathon should be organised to demonstrate tampering of any kind.
AAP’s national secretary, Pankaj Gupta, said that several complaints about EVMS being tampered with had come to public notice in the last couple of months. The BJP benefitted in all these cases, Mr. Gupta alleged.
The party also said in the memorandum that when it was clear that the BJP was reaping benefits in elections by rigging EVMs, what was the point of holding a tampering challenge without letting contestants touch the motherboard. “…How else is it possible that whatever evidence there emerges — be it from Bhind or Dholpur — the VVPAT machines are printing the lotus symbol?” it read.