Delhi: Even as major Opposition parties met President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday and raised issue of alleged EVM tampering during their meeting, the Election Commission has come out with an 'open challenge' to hack the machines from the first week of May.
"From first week of May, experts, scientists, technocrats can come for a week or 10 days and try to hack the machines," an official source said.
They said the challenge will be open for a week or 10 days and will have various levels, as per PTI.
The Commission had announced a similar challenge in 2009 and it claimed no one could hack it's electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and senior party leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge, and Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Sitaram Yechury were part of the delegation that submitted a memorandum to the President on alleged tampering with the Electronic Voting Machines during recent state polls.
Also Read - Even manufacturers can't manipulate EVMs: Election Commission
"Through our memorandum, we drew his attention to the recent critical developments which have seriously undermined governance and institutional integrity. The environment of fear and insecurity has been prevailing in the country and voices of dissent are being muzzled," said Azad, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.
He said malfunctioning and tampering with EVMs have raised questions about the sanctity of entire electoral process, particularly the recent elections to five state Assemblies.
The senior Congress leader said that the leaders of various opposition parties met the Election Commission authorities too on Monday and were assured of all-party meeting on the matter.
Govt slams Opposition:
Hitting back, Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu said today that after its defeat in polls, the Opposition parties have started a disinformation campaign against the government.
Questioning the Opposition for doubting the reliability of EVMs, Naidu asked how come it was okay when the AAP won the Delhi polls and the JDU-Congress alliance won in Bihar.
"When NDA wins, then blame the EVMs. The EC has already clarified on the issue," he said.
(With PTI inputs)
