K'taka Minister Priyank Kharge writes to EC; demands court-monitored ethical hackathon & audit of EVMs

Bengaluru, Sep 9 (IANS) Karnataka Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, IT and Biotechnology Priyank Kharge has, on Tuesday, written to the Chief Election Commissioner of the Election Commission of India (ECI), Sushil Chandra, demanding government-backed hackathon auditing of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

Speaking about the letter to the ECI, Minister Kharge said, "It's not now. During my previous tenure as IT Minister in 2017–18, I had written to the ECI about conducting a court-monitored ethical hackathon to address the doubts of the people. In the recent Gram Panchayat elections and the recent election in Lucknow, when the EVMs were recounted, there was a change in the result."

"There are a lot of people having doubts about the functionality of the EVMs. People have questions about how the symbols are assigned, when the candidate names are registered, and various technical matters. The EVMs are disposed of after use, and there are many cases of missing EVMs. Questions remain about what kind of software is installed, who installs it, and these matters remain unquestioned," he added.

"We are simply asking for an ethical hackathon. We have great R&D centres here, and premier institutions like the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). We are number one in research and development. I think the ECI should allow a court-monitored ethical hackathon so they can come clean on the technicalities of the EVM," he said.

"After all, the EVM is a machine. If there are doubts about its functioning, it is the duty of the ECI to clear the air. Last time also, when I sent a letter to them, they merely sent a manual, which is publicly available online. But if there are technical doubts, where do we get them clarified? That is all we are asking," Kharge added.

Regarding the Supreme Court's direction to accept Aadhaar as the 12th document for voter ID purposes, he said, "I think the EC should answer this. When Aadhaar is accepted across the country as a proof of identity, what objection does the EC have in accepting it for voter enrollment? Your Aadhaar card is good enough to be enrolled as a voter across India except in Bihar. On what basis was this exception made? Why is the EC unable to maintain a healthy voter list? Who is the custodian of the voter list? It is the EC. Whether the issues raised in Mahadevapura in Bengaluru, or those raised by Rahul Gandhi in Bihar, they are still unresolved," he said.

"I don't know whether the EC is really interested in conducting free and fair elections," he asked.

In his letter, Minister Kharge said, "I had written to your office on December 3, 2024, outlining concerns regarding the functioning of EVMs and related vulnerabilities, and suggesting a constructive solution in the form of a court-monitored ethical hackathon and audit, backed by the government of Karnataka. With our strong technology and Research and Development ecosystem, I proposed that Karnataka is well placed to carry out such a transparent exercise under judicial and industry oversight to rigorously test the EVM architecture and address public perception issues around electoral integrity."

"On several occasions in my capacity as Karnataka Minister for Electronics, IT and BT, I have formally placed similar suggestions on record with the Election Commission, my intent has always been to address concerns and strengthen public faith in the system," he added.

"At a time when serious questions are being raised about the independence of institutions and the integrity of our elections, it becomes even more urgent to adopt proposals that improve transparency. Ignoring them only deepens doubts. I therefore urge the Commission to act on this proposal at the earliest, in the interest of preserving public trust in our democracy," Kharge said.

"I look forward for your response," he concluded the letter.

A hackathon is an event, usually lasting from several hours to a few days, where programmers, software developers, designers, and others involved in software development collaborate intensively to create working software or hardware projects.

--IANS

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