Rahul Gandhi Questions EVMs Following Elon Musk
Following Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s remarks, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has raised concerns about Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in India. Rahul Gandhi stated that there is no permission to inspect EVMs in India, raising serious concerns about the transparency of the electoral process. Musk had previously claimed that EVMs can be easily hacked.
Elon Musk Questions EVM Security
Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently questioned the security of EVMs, stating that they can be easily hacked. Following Musk’s comments, Rahul Gandhi also voiced similar concerns.
Rahul Gandhi Labels EVMs as a ‘Black Box’
Rahul Gandhi echoed Musk’s concerns, describing EVMs in India as a ‘black box.’ He stated, “In India, EVMs are a ‘black box,’ and no one is allowed to inspect them. There are serious concerns regarding the transparency of our electoral process. When there is a lack of accountability in institutions, democracy becomes a facade, increasing the likelihood of fraud.”
Rahul Gandhi Refers to the Mumbai Incident
In his post, Rahul Gandhi mentioned an incident in Mumbai where the police filed a case against Mangesh Pandilkar, the brother-in-law of Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) MP Ravindra Waikar, over EVM-related issues. Pandilkar allegedly used a mobile phone inside the Goregaon election center despite restrictions.
It’s worth noting that Ravindra Waikar won the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha seat by just 48 votes after a recount.
Musk’s Statement on EVM Hacking
Elon Musk, in a post, claimed that EVMs can be hacked by anyone and suggested that there is a need to avoid and eliminate them. He mentioned that both humans and AI pose a hacking risk to EVMs.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar’s Counterattack
In response to Musk’s post, BJP leader and former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar countered the claim. Chandrasekhar stated that according to Musk, no one can create secure digital hardware, which he called a completely incorrect assertion.
This is a huge sweeping generalization statement that implies no one can build secure digital hardware. Wrong. @elonmusk 's view may apply to US n other places – where they use regular compute platforms to build Internet connected Voting machines.
— Rajeev Chandrasekhar 🇮🇳 (@RajeevRC_X) June 16, 2024
But Indian EVMs are custom… https://t.co/GiaCqU1n7O
Chandrasekhar further explained that while Musk’s comments might apply to places like the USA, where regular computer platforms are used to build internet-connected voting machines, this is not the case in India.
