It is amusing that leading political parties in J&K have expressed reservations on the functionality of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) which will be pressed into service in the forthcoming legislative assembly elections in the State. Quite surprisingly Congress and National Conference, too, have joined the voice of reservation just because they are under the false notion that since these machines will be brought for Gujarat, hence BJP or Narendra Modi must have blown some sorcery into them and these will work against local political parities. The irony lies in the fact that the Congress Party did not have any reservations of this kind when during its regime EVMs were fully used in assembly as well as Parliamentary elections. Raising of objections on the use of EVMs just because these will be brought from Gujarat, without caring to enquire whether these are manufactured by the Government of Gujarat or by any individual Guajarati manufacturer not, is unacceptable. It means casting aspersions on the integrity of the Election Commission of India indirectly ir not directly. If we begin to look at our democratic system in this way, we shall be striking at its very roots. At best, the complaining parties should have approached the ECI with their doubts and apprehensions and sought clearance instead of going public and raising unnecessary ruckus on an issue that is a non-issue.
The ECI has come out with a rebuttal of these flimsy and meaningless apprehensions aimed at misleading the public and scuttling elections to the Assembly in the State. We are confident that after reading the rebuttal of the ECI, there remains no scope for any political party to stick to the doubts of their own creating. The ECI has given elaborate information saying that no Gujarat based company manufactures these machines; they are manufactured by two Public Sector Undertakings of Government of India namely M/s Bharat Electronics (BEL), Bangalore and M/s Electronic Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), Hyderabad. It sets at rest any doubt that somebody in Gujarat manufactures and leave behind a snag or two which can be exploited. Yes some Southern States like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala did raise the issue in the past and the cases of imagined manipulating the machine were reported to the State High Courts concerned which turned it down after fully examining all aspects and obtaining considerate technical opinion as well as functionality of the machines. Even there is the verdict of the Supreme Court on administrative and technical safeguards of EVMs. Not only assembly elections but even parliamentary elections were held in which these machines were used. No party lodged any complaint on their functionality.
Coming to the aspect of testing and re-testing immaculate functioning of the machine, the ECI elaborated how the Commission usually tests the machines and satisfies itself that there is no possibility of finding any fault with the machines. The ECI has a very elaborate and meticulous testing and verification system of these machines. No machine is pressed into service unless it has cleared the test. Even after that there is random testing of machines which could be anything between 5 to 10 per cent of them.
J&K is not the only State where EVMs will be used as usual. Jharkhand and Haryana are also going in for Assembly polls but contesting parties in these states have not raised any doubts like the ones raised in our State. ECI has assured all that the EVMs are tamper-proof and there is absolutely no chance for any body to manipulate it. The system of checking the efficient performance of the machine is very meticulous and very dependable. It has also to be said that even in advanced democracies, the losers in election bring about so many accusations only to convince themselves and none other that elections were rigged or mismanaged. It is human psychology. In Pakistan, as we see at the moment, it is after 15 months of elections and induction of elected Government, political opponents have staged large scale demonstrations that those elections were rigged.
Our democracy is vibrant and becoming stronger. We are gradually evolving a system that makes our democratic arrangement efficient and fair. It is very unfortunate if mainstream or regional political parties adopt myopic view and raise doubts about the honesty and integrity of the entire system. They are rendering negative service, which is regrettable. If anything linked with Gujarat is to be see through coloured glasses, we are afraid this nation will not mature politically and morally. Embedded hatred degrades one’s personality. By raising baseless and unsubstantiated charges or doubts, the accusers unwittingly reduce themselves to levity. They should look for ways to enhance their prestige among the people.
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