Secure EVM strongrooms, Maharashtra Congress to EC

Apprehending tampering of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and VVPATs used in the recent Lok Sabha elections in the state, the Maharashtra Congress on Monday asked the Election Commission (EC) to secure all the strongrooms where EVMs were stored.

The 48 Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra voted in the first four phases of Lok Sabha elections on April 11, April 18, April 23 and April 29.

State Congress President Ashok Chavan said that since there were fears of EVM tinkering through mobile towers or WiFi networks in the vicinity of the strongrooms, each such place should be fitted with jammers.

Chavan was addressing the media after leading a delegation of top party leaders, which met Chief Electoral Officer of the state Ashwani Kumar and submitted a memorandum on the issue, demanding jammers in all the strongrooms till the votes were counted on May 23.

Chavan said that many people have raised their doubts over the safety of the strongrooms and the possibility of tampering with the EVMs stored there.

"If such a thing indeed happens, it would pose a grave risk to democracy. It is necessary that the election process remains neutral, and hence it is imperative for the EC to implement suitable measures to enhance security of the strongrooms," Chavan pointed out.

Another demand raised by the Congress pertained to declaring the outcome of each round of counting and only thereafter taking up counting for the next round and to count the votes four times if any EVM was under suspicion.

Reiterating its demand for verifying the votes cast with the VVPATs, Chavan said the candidates must be allowed to decide which EVMs should be verified with the voting slips (VVPATs).

The delegation comprised former state Ministers Baba Siddique and Naseem Khan, and senior leaders Bhai Jagtap, Rajan Bhosale, Abhijit Sapkal, Ramkishan Ojha and Gajanan Desai.

EC sources told IANS that in total there were 48 strongrooms in Maharashtra, one for each Lok Sabha constituency, where thousands of sealed EVMs have been kept in safe custody.

"The strongrooms are essentially godowns at a central location in the district or the concerned parliamentary constituency. After transferring all the EVMs there, it is sealed as per EC procedures. Nobody can enter or exit thereafter without following stringent EC protocols. Each strongroom is kept under tight security round the clock," said an EC official, requesting anonymity.

--IANS

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