A technical coordinator for an NGO is now under Maharashtra police custody over a missing EVM.
Lok Satta Party president Jayaprakash Narayan, on Friday, appealed to all political parties not to undermine the electoral process and demolish the credibility of the Election Commission of India by kicking up a controversy over electronic voting machines (EVMs).
He also assured that the party will extend legal help to the whistleblower Hari Prasad, currently under the custody of Maharashtra police on a case of a missing Electronic Voting Machine.
The LSP president pointed out to media persons that the Election Commission is one of the few institutions which enjoy credibility. It has earned reputation by conducting free and fair elections by and large, he stated.
Referring to certain politicians' contention that EVMs could be tampered with and poll outcomes rigged, JP said it was nobody's case that any man-made machine is not vulnerable to tampering. After all, an EVM is like any other machine which can be manipulated and fixed, he said.
JP said that the EC has instituted fool-proof safeguards at various levels to protect the sanctity of elections and prevent any possibility of EVMs being tampered with. The important question, therefore, is whether EVMs are being tampered with during elections in real life situations, he added.
He recalled that the EC had offered to place EVMs at the disposal of Doubting Thomases for a month and challenged them to prove that they could be tampered with in the conditions under which elections are actually held; but that none has chosen to accept the challenge so far.
JP pointed out that EVMs are subject to scrutiny at 3 stages – by officials before they are installed, by contesting candidates before elections, and by their representatives on the day of polling.
The LSP chief recalled that the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, led by Jayalalitha, and the Congress in Punjab, led by Amarinder Singh, had both sought Supreme Court intervention to stall the use of EVMs. In the elections that followed the Supreme Court's dismissal of their petitions, both the parties swept the elections and formed governments. In the latest instance, the TRS won the by-elections to the AP Assembly, in a poll which witnessed the use of both EVMs and printed ballot papers in different constituencies.
JP charged that certain political parties are trying to explain their failure to win the hearts and minds of voters with their policies and programs by blaming it on EVMs.
He appealed to the Maharashtra Government to release Hari Prasad of Hyderabad, who was arrested in connection with a missing electronic voting machine (EVM), and drop the case registered against him.
The LSP president called Hari Praasad, a technical coordinator for an NGO, "Citizens for Verification, Transparency and Accountability in Elections", to a whistle-blower who wanted to improve the electoral system. He might have taken some ill-advised steps in the process but he harboured no ill-will against the Election Commission, said JP.
Victimizing Hari Prasad by the Maharashtra government for his whistle-blower activity would be akin to arresting a reporter who offers a bribe to a politician or official as part of a sting operation, he alleged.
JP said that EC officials lodged a first information report with the Maharashtra police about a missing EVM as early as in May 2010 and left the matter at that. The Maharashtra police arrested Hari Prasad at his residence in Hyderabad as a follow-up to the complaint. In this whole episode, the Election Commission acted with commendable restraint, dignity and probity, eh stated.
The LSP chief announced that the Lok Satta Party would extend legal aid to Hari Prasad. He said that the Foundation For Democratic Reforms would take the initiative to organize a national workshop by involving all the stakeholders, including EC officials and experts in electronics, to dispel misgivings over EVMs once and for all.
Courtesy: INN