The Congress on Friday condemned as "most serious" reports from the Election Commission identifying "defective" VVPAT machines and urged the poll body to work with everyone to restore public trust in the electoral process's integrity. The opposition party asked the EC several questions and stated that it must respond with full transparency on VVPATs in order to help restore trust in the election process.
These VVPAT machines are of the latest 'M3' type, which was first introduced by the EC in 2018 and has been used in elections since then, he said, adding that 17.4 lakh VVPAT machines have been notified for use in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
According to Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera, media reports claim that the EC has "identified 6.5 lahks VVPAT machines as defective" and has returned them to the manufacturers for repair.
According to Khera, Congress considers this a "most serious issue" threatening the very integrity of the electoral process, as the number of machines with defects is allegedly more than one-third (37%) of the number used in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
"Voters in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and subsequent Assembly elections may have had their votes influenced." VVPATs were introduced as a measure to increase public trust in EVMs. "Defects on such a large scale require full transparency to restore public faith and trust in the electoral process in an environment of increasing questions about EVMs," he said.
Noting that this is not an isolated incident, the Congress leader stated that the defects are "serious" enough that the machines were returned to the manufacturers in violation of the EC's own Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).
He asked, in a series of eight questions, whether the EC had been able to identify the exact "defects" being observed in the VVPAT machines and why the rectification and identification of "defects" in VVPAT machines had been delayed.
Questions From Congress To ECI:
"Has the EC been able to identify all machines with reported defects, i.e., have all VVPAT machines been tested for defects? Why were the defects not detected during the first level checks, which are in place for VVPAT machines?" Khera asked, and whether the Commission had requested reports from the DEOs and CEOs in charge of the machines declared defective.
"What additional safeguards is the EC planning to implement in the future to prevent similar incidents that have far-reaching consequences for elections?" Will the EC continue to use VVPAT machines in any upcoming elections, given the current issues raised about their operation?" Khera also inquired.
Election Commission Reacts To Reports Of Defective VVPATs:
However, in response to media reports about VVPAT defects, the Election Commission stated that 3.43 lakh VVPATs were identified for preventive maintenance, not 6.5 lahks as previously reported. Officials claim that a faulty VVPAT does not produce erroneous results, but rather simply stops functioning during the voting process, PTI reported.