New Delhi: Are the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) tamper-proof? Yes, says the Election Commission and proves it with an open demonstration.
The commission gave the demonstration to political parties, petitioners and critics who have been questioning the functioning of the EVMs.
On Friday and Saturday, the Election Commission offered one hundred EVMs picked at random for a demonstration in the presence of technical experts, including engineers representing the EVM manufacturers.
These engineers were especially called from Hyderabad and Bangalore.
The Election Commission says none of the persons could demonstrate that any of the hundred EVMs could be tampered with.
The people who challenged the EVMs either failed to demonstrate or in the end chose not to participate.
Earlier on July 5, the Election Commission had said that it was satisfied about the EVMs foolproof working.
"The EC is amply satisfied about the non-tamperability and the foolproof working of the EVMs. The Commission's confidence in the efficacy of the EVMs has been fortified by the judgments of various courts and the views of technical experts," the Commission said in its press note reacting to reports about the technological vulnerability of EVMs.
The EC's July 5 clarification came in the wake of BJP leader L K Advani demanding reintroduction of ballot papers in elections, beginning with the Maharashtra assembly polls and three other states, observing that there was every possibility of malfunctioning of EVMs.