Congress demands probe into EVM hacking in Buldhana

Mumbai: Allegations related to the hacking of an electronic voting Machine (EVM) in Buldhana reached the Maharashtra Council on Tuesday. Congress MLC Sanjay Dutt raised this issue and demanded a thorough inquiry.

While taking cognisance of the matter, the council chairman, Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar, asked the state government to make a statement before the house on it.

“I am also reading about the matter in the media. It is better if the government makes a statement on the issue,” Mr Naik Nimalkar said.

After reports of EVM hacking started doing the rounds few days ago, the Buldhana  district collector allegedly admitted that an EVM used in the local body polls held in February had malfunctioned.

Mr Dutt said, “There have been allegations of EVM tampering. This is for the first time a district collector has reported this. The matter needs a thorough investigation.”

Independent candidate Asha Arun Zore, who had contested the zilla parishad elections alleged that all votes were getting registered in favour of BJP despite pressing the button indicating her symbol.

After technical investigation, the district collectorate sent a report to the state government admitting that even when voters pressed symbol of other parties, all the votes were getting registered in favour of the BJP.

RTI activist Anil Galgali, who acquired the collector’s report through an RTI query informed the media in last week. The government will likely make a statement in this
week.