Amid INDIA bloc’s issues over EVM tampering within the not too long ago concluded Maharashtra Meeting elections, Maharashtra’s Extra Chief Electoral Officer Kiran Kulkarni stated in all 1,440 Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) had been verified over the past month’s state meeting polls with their outcomes matching completely with Digital Voting Machine (EVM) counts.
A VVPAT is related with an EVM by way of a printer port, which information vote information and counters in a paper slip to confirm the proper recording of vote by the machine. VVPATs are supposed as an impartial verification system for voting machines.
EC says EVMs cannot be hacked
He additionally vouched for the credibility of EVMs, saying they’re standalone units with no chance of hacking, an assertion coming within the backdrop of some opposition events questioning the credibility of those machines and demanding a return to poll papers.
659 circumstances of Mannequin Code violation reported
Chatting with PTI, Kulkarni knowledgeable that 659 circumstances associated to violation of the Mannequin Code of Conduct (MCC) had been recorded in the course of the meeting polls and so they had been below investigation.
This was a big rise from 366 such circumstances reported in Maharashtra in the course of the Lok Sabha polls, which had been held within the state in April-Might. The meeting elections had been held on November 23.
Kulkarni defined investigations into the meeting election circumstances had been being pursued actively and expressed confidence they are going to attain a passable conclusion.
He famous that complaints relating to hate speeches and violations of the MCC had been completely investigated with some leading to authorized motion below related legal guidelines.
“Maharashtra recorded 659 circumstances in the course of the current meeting elections, a big improve from 366 circumstances within the Lok Sabha elections. Our investigating businesses did a superb work in the course of the Lok Sabha polls. Out of 366 circumstances, 300 had been charge-sheeted. Equally, for the 659 circumstances within the meeting elections, all investigations had been being adopted up, and I’m hopeful they may even attain a logical finish,” maintained the senior bureaucrat.
EC says EVM units are tamper-proof
Requested about opposition events levelling manipulation allegations relating to EVMs and questioning their credibility and transparency, Kulkarni sought to allay their issues and asserted these units are tamper proof.
“These machines are standalone units with no exterior connectivity, making hacking unattainable. The chip in EVMs is one-time programmable, making certain no adjustments may be made. Strict safety and administrative protocols additional stop any tampering,” he insisted.
Requested about the potential for sales space capturing in context of some movies that circulated in central Maharashtra’s Beed district in the course of the voting final month, the extra CEO asserted Maharashtra has no historical past of such incidents.
“These movies had been both unrelated to the present elections or weren’t from the state. At 6 polling stations in Beed, disruptions had been swiftly addressed, and polling resumed inside an hour. Our group responded shortly, apprehending people who had been making an attempt to disrupt the election course of,” he said.
(With inputs from PTI)