Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], August 21 : Karnataka Minister for Electronics, IT/BT, and Rural Development Priyank Kharge on Thursday urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to allow a court-monitored ethical hackathon and technical audit of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs)
His appeal follows the Supreme Court's order for a recount of EVM votes in Buana Lakhu village, Panipat, Haryana, which overturned the originally declared election result.
Kharge said the incident exposed "serious lapses" and "vulnerabilities" in the electoral system that could affect outcomes.
In a post on X, Kharge wrote, "The recent case of the Supreme Court ordering an EVM recount in Buana Lakhu village, Panipat and overturning the declared result has once again exposed how serious lapses in our electoral system can change outcomes. This only reinforces what was long suspected but never tested, that our electoral system has loopholes and vulnerabilities which cannot be brushed aside."
He noted that while the ECI maintains that EVMs are "tamper-proof", risks persist throughout multiple stages.
"While the Election Commission of India stubbornly claims that EVMs are tamper-proof and the entire process is beyond manipulation, the reality is that risks exist across every stage, from pre-poll preparation, storage and distribution to polling day operations, post-poll transport and counting," wrote Kharge.
Kharge highlighted that he had previously urged the ECI to permit a court-monitored ethical hackathon and technical audit.
He wrote, "That is why I had urged the ECI, in my letter of December 3, 2024, to allow a court-monitored ethical hackathon and technical audit. The Karnataka Government is ready to sponsor and put the tech and academic resources to work to transparently identify and plug these gaps. The incident in Haryana has once again underlined the urgency for such accountability."
Kharge, in his earlier letter dated December 3, 2024, addressed to the Election Commission of India's Commissioner, highlighted various electoral system vulnerabilities.
Kharge wrote, "I had detailed several concerning instances, from mismatched vote counts and inconsistencies in electoral rolls to unusual turnout percentages, missing EVMs and vulnerabilities in VVPATs and control units. I also flagged procedural gaps that raise serious concerns about the integrity of the electoral process."
On behalf of the Karnataka government, Kharge proposed a comprehensive audit involving premier academic institutions and reputed private technology R&D firms.
"To address these issues, on behalf of the Government of Karnataka, we proposed a court-monitored ethical hackathon, a rigorous technical audit of EVMs involving premier academic institutions and reputed private technology R&D players. Karnataka is home to the world's fourth largest technology cluster and our ecosystem is well-positioned to examine the entire EVM architecture, from hardware and software to vote recording and counting, under judicial and academic oversight," the post read.