Days after the Election Commission responded to concerns raised by the INDIA bloc of Opposition parties over Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that specific concerns “remained unaddressed”, and sought a meeting with members of the EC. He called the clarification issued by the EC “generic”, adding that “no hearing or meeting was provided to the INDIA parties’ delegation despite repeated requests”.

 

In a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, Ramesh wrote that the INDIA bloc has been unsuccessful in meeting members of the EC to put forth its suggestions on the use of Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips. “On December 20, 2023, we requested for an appointment with the ECI to ‘discuss and provide suggestions on the use of VVPATs’ based on a resolution passed at meeting of leaders of INDIA parties held the previous day. We have been trying to meet with the ECI to hand over a copy of this resolution and have a discussion but have not been successful so far in doing so,” Ramesh wrote.

 

On December 19, the INDIA bloc of parties had passed a resolution, noting that INDIA parties have submitted a detailed memorandum to the ECI with “several specific questions on the design and operation of the EVMs”. “Unfortunately, the ECI has been reluctant to meet an INDIA delegation on this memorandum,” the resolution stated.

 

“Our suggestion is simple: Instead of the VVPAT slip falling in the box, it should be handed over to the voter who shall then place it in a separate ballot box after having verified his or her choice. 100% counting of VVPAT slips should then be done,” the resolution read.

 

“I once again make a request for an opportunity for a 3-4 member team of INDIA party leaders to meet with you and your colleagues and take a few minutes to put forward our point of view on VVPATs. Surely, this is put forward is a perfectly reasonable and legitimate,” Ramesh said.

 

This comes after a series of requests by the INDIA bloc to meet members of the EC, according to Ramesh.

 

“On August 9, 2023, a memorandum had been submitted to the ECI on EVM- related concerns of INDIA parties. This was supported with several requests – on August 9, 2023, August 10, 2023, August 16, 2023, August 18, 2023, and August 23, 2023, – for a meeting of an INDIA Parties’ delegation with the ECI. On August 23, 2023, ECI issued a clarification to our counsel on the memorandum,” he stated.

 

The EC has revised and expanded its Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page to address the doubts raised — including how Indian EVMs are different from the ones banned in Germany; if VVPATs have a programmable memory; and if EVM manufacturers share software with foreign microchip-makers. As The Indian Express had reported earlier, the EC had responded to the alliance over its concerns, citing the revised FAQs on EVMs uploaded in August.

 

Ramesh, in his letter, stated, “This clarification was generic in nature and (1) directed us to refer to the standard FAQs on EVMS available on the ECI website; (ii) explained the legal backing for EVMs through Section 61A of the Representation of Peoples’ Act, 1951; (iii) summarised the judgments of the High Courts and the Supreme Court on the issue of EVMs; (iv) provided a chart of assembly and parliamentary election results since 2004 to show that the political party winning the maximum number of seats changed several times. However, there was no meeting or hearing provided to the INDIA Parties delegation despite repeated requests.”

 

The Congress leader added that “no response was received” on a follow-up representation sent on October 2, 2023, by the INDIA bloc over specific concerns that “remained unaddressed”.