Elon Musk Vs Ex-Union Minister Engage In War Of Words Over EVMs On X, Rahul Gandhi Terms Machine As 'Black Box'

Former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has strongly refuted Tesla CEO Elon Musk's concerns about Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), calling them a 'huge sweeping generalization' that lacks foundation. Musk earlier had suggested in a post on X that EVMs should be eliminated due to potential hacking risks by humans or AI, even if these risks are minimal.

Chandrasekhar, who served as Minister of State for the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in Modi Cabinet 2.0, countered Musk's perspective, clarifying that while Musk’s concerns might be relevant in the US and other regions using standard computing platforms for internet-connected voting machines, they do not apply to India. He also stated that Indian EVMs are custom-designed, secure and isolated from any network or media.

He elaborated on this in a tweet, stating, "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. But Indian EVMs are custom designed, secure and isolated from any network or media - No connectivity, no bluetooth, wifi, Internet. ie there is no way in. Factory programmed controllers that cannot be reprogrammed (sic)."

Chandrasekhar also extended an offer to Musk for a tutorial demonstrating the robustness of India's EVMs, stressing on their secure architecture and construction.

Rahul Gandhi Terms EVMs As Black Box

Meanwhile, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi entered the fray, aligning with Musk’s skepticism. Gandhi, who has frequently questioned the transparency of EVMs, referred to them as a 'black box.' In his post on X, he said, "EVMs in India are a 'black box,' and nobody is allowed to scrutinize them. Serious concerns are being raised about transparency in our electoral process. Democracy ends up becoming a sham and prone to fraud when institutions lack accountability."

EVM Allegedly Rigged By Sena Leader's Kin

Recently, news reports claimed that a relative of Shiv Sena leader Ravindra Waikar who won the Mumbai North West seat possessed a mobile phone that unlocks EVM. Waikar had won the polls with a very narrow margin of 48 votes after multiple rounds of counting and recounting. The accused in the matter was booked by Mumbai Police following a complaint against him.

Activist Prashant Bhushan took to his account on X and shared the article saying, "Wow! In this constituency the INDIA alliance candidate had won, but on recount at instance of NDA candidate, due to counting of electronically collected postal ballots, the NDA candidate was declared winner!"

This controversy follows allegations from the Opposition during the recent Lok Sabha election that the ruling BJP could potentially tamper with EVMs to influence election results. In response to these allegations, Chief Election Commissioner Rajeev Kumar reassured the public, asserting that EVMs are '100% safe.'