Congress leader Rahul Gandhi echoed concerns raised by Tesla CEO Elon Musk regarding the vulnerability of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) to potential hacking.
Gandhi referred to Electronic Voting Machines as “black boxes” and criticized the lack of transparency in their scrutiny, suggesting it undermines democracy’s integrity.In contrast, former Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar opposed Musk’s views, asserting that India’s EVMs are secure, custom-designed, and isolated from external networks. Chandrasekhar challenged Musk’s generalization, highlighting the differences in technology use between India and countries like the US, where concerns over internet-connected voting systems are more prevalent.
EVMs in India are a “black box,” and nobody is allowed to scrutinize them.
Serious concerns are being raised about transparency in our electoral process.
Democracy ends up becoming a sham and prone to fraud when institutions lack accountability. https://t.co/nysn5S8DCF pic.twitter.com/7sdTWJXOAb
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 16, 2024
Chandrasekhar offered to educate Musk on the specifics of Indian EVMs, emphasizing their robust security features such as non-connectivity to Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or the internet, and controllers that are factory-programmed and immutable.
The debate comes amidst ongoing discussions on electoral integrity and security, with opposition parties in India advocating for increased transparency through measures like 100% VVPAT slip counting, which has faced resistance.
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