Editorial With Sujit Nair | Why Insist On EVMs?

[00:00:02] Hello and welcome to HW Editorial with me Sujit Nair.

[00:00:07] Here you can listen to my views, my analysis.

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[00:00:40] Namaskar. Welcome to another episode of Editorial.

[00:00:44] Are electronic voting machines tampered with?

[00:00:48] If they are not, then why are the governments of the day and I am not talking about this government,

[00:00:53] even the previous government insisted that they should go with electronic voting machine?

[00:00:58] Why do government insist on electronic voting machine?

[00:01:02] Let's get right into the show and try and find out.

[00:01:05] So electronic voting machines was introduced in India in way back in 1982 by the way.

[00:01:13] It was introduced in a by election in Parvur in Kerala and this machine was used

[00:01:20] but the Supreme Court disqualified that elections.

[00:01:24] The Supreme Court discarded that election and the election had to be redone

[00:01:28] because the Supreme Court said that we don't recognize this machine.

[00:01:32] This was introduced in 1982. So from 1998 to 2001 is when in a phase manner electronic voting machines

[00:01:40] or EVM was introduced in India.

[00:01:43] Now it's very ironically. It is very ironically because the government of the day

[00:01:52] wanted, insisted on EVM and the opposition always said that EVM cheating was there.

[00:01:59] This was true when Congress was in the government and when LK Ervani, that is the Bharatiya Janata Party leader said that cheating was there.

[00:02:08] EVM cheating was there.

[00:02:10] Now Bharatiya Janata Party is the government and the opposition says EVM cheating was there.

[00:02:17] So the question I want to ask tonight is exactly why is that the government wants EVM?

[00:02:22] Every government wants EVM and every opposition doesn't.

[00:02:26] Why is it so convenient for the government and why are every opposition viewing or satsbhi kabhi bahutiwala types?

[00:02:34] The opposition today was a government yesterday.

[00:02:37] So why is the opposition viewing this with suspicion and why is the government actually insisting on EVM?

[00:02:44] This is what we will discuss.

[00:02:47] Now before I get into Supreme Court and what Supreme Court said today, what Supreme Court said on the 16th of April

[00:02:54] and what Advocate Prashant Bhushan said all this before all that, let me tell you some basic fundamentals.

[00:03:00] You see democracy is about all of us feeling that we have a right to vote.

[00:03:08] Democracy is about all of us feeling that our vote or our opinion in this case

[00:03:15] vote is your opinion, isn't it? Vote is your choice, isn't it? So our choice counts.

[00:03:20] That is what democracy is based on.

[00:03:22] If even one person in our country feels that, yaar mera vote barabar nahi hua tha

[00:03:27] you know my vote was cheated, they cheated with my vote, we are a flawed democracy

[00:03:34] because that's the spirit, the soul of democracy is lost, isn't it?

[00:03:39] Even if one person feels that.

[00:03:42] Now let me give you some basic fundamentals.

[00:03:44] Before I get into like I said the Supreme Court and all that, we have roughly around 3 million EVM machines.

[00:03:50] Now they say for 2024 elections we are going to deploy 5.5 million EVM machines.

[00:03:58] Number is not really important.

[00:04:00] What is important is if these EVM machines are picture perfect, everything is correct

[00:04:07] then we should be saying that this EVM follows Sigma 6 level which is a very decent level to say that boss

[00:04:16] it is this machine cannot have any errors.

[00:04:19] If we are following the Sigma 6 level then according to Sigma 6 level

[00:04:24] 3.4 machines per million machines, 3.4 machines per 10 lakh machines can show error.

[00:04:34] It is understood, itna hota hai 3.4 machines per million per 10 lakhs

[00:04:42] which means if I go by the earlier figure which is 3 million you can have around 10 machines which shows error

[00:04:48] and if you go by the current figure which is 5.5 million you can say that you can have around 16 to 17 machines that shows error.

[00:04:56] Understandable.

[00:04:58] Out of 55 lakh machines but is that the fact?

[00:05:02] Errors almost comes from every city.

[00:05:08] Every city talks of some problem or another, haven't it?

[00:05:12] So then the basic fundamental is what I am questioning.

[00:05:18] Maloma error over it is more than 3.4 machines per million.

[00:05:24] We are not following Sigma 6 standards.

[00:05:27] Then why are we allowing substandard products to be distributed to be used?

[00:05:32] Question number 1.

[00:05:34] Now let us go to our quotes and let us go to Prashant Bhushan.

[00:05:38] See Prashant Bhushan has been asking these three questions pre-rominately.

[00:05:42] He's been basically talking about three factors.

[00:05:44] One is the electronic recording of voters choice in EVM does not meet the criteria of vote being verified as recorded as cast.

[00:05:55] As the voters only verifies the VVPAT.

[00:05:58] VVPAT is a full form also let me tell you.

[00:06:00] VVPAT stands for voter verifiable paper audit trail.

[00:06:05] So what he's saying is he's saying I am pressing for one particular party and I can see that VVPAT for some time and then it goes.

[00:06:15] So what verification that what I pressed exactly is what the machine recorded and that's exactly what was in the VVPAT.

[00:06:24] That is the first question that Prashant Bhushan asks.

[00:06:27] The second question he says is there is no way for any voters to verify that their individual vote has actually been counted as recorded

[00:06:36] because there's no procedure provided by the ECA election commission of India for them to match the VVPATs that they have verified are being recorded as cast.

[00:06:45] Now again same thing I put the vote.

[00:06:48] How much amount you have counted?

[00:06:49] All that VVPAT is all I have but how do you how do I know that my vote is counted?

[00:06:53] I am much impressed the light came that VVPAT came but what is not counted how do I know it is counted?

[00:06:59] How do I know how do I know my numbers are actually there when you say this particular candidate got 25,000 votes.

[00:07:07] I am one of that 25,000 how do you how do I know that's the point number to the point number three is that rule 56 D 4 B

[00:07:14] as incorporated through the section 66 A of the conduct of election rules 1961 itself provides that the count of VVPAT shall prevail

[00:07:24] over the count reflected in the EVMs which is statutory admission acknowledging that it is finally the VVPATs

[00:07:32] that which accurately captures the will of the voters and the variance error malefights in the result captured in the EVMs cannot be ruled out.

[00:07:42] He says according to rule 56 D 4 B under the 66 A of the conduct of election rules he says

[00:07:51] that even the rule says that it is the VVPAT that is finally counted.

[00:07:57] So even the system believes that you don't know that we will press one vote and go for another party.

[00:08:07] It is finally the thing that I see I see that okay I pressed for this particular party.

[00:08:12] I see that party symbol down and then it goes that is what is counted because that has saw I said that okay this is what I press for this is what I got.

[00:08:19] That's what Prashant Pushan says by three criteria you are not meeting so how can VVPAT be used now there is another problem

[00:08:28] another problem is that you see in Kerala interesting isn't it 1982 first VVPAT used in Kerala and the first big problem now starting from with Kerala.

[00:08:42] Now in Kerala Prashant Pushan cites a report published by Malayalam Manorama online.

[00:08:49] The complaint raised against the mock polls conducted on the EVM in Kassergourd constituency in Kerala as per the report both the left Democratic Front that's the LDF and the UDF that is a United Democratic Front have

[00:09:04] complained to the district collector that at least four electronic voting machines erroneously registered votes in favor of BJP are a both LDF and UDF.

[00:09:15] They're the two major groups LDF predominantly are the left parties UDF are his congress and his allies both of them said

[00:09:24] they had some for a BJP vote there are more votes registered for BJP when they conducted mock trials this went to the Supreme Court and Supreme Court based on what was presented to them has asked a bench of Justice Sanjeev Khanna and Dipankar Dutta has asked the government to check this up.

[00:09:44] They said Baba you check it up and get back to us. Now mind you 16th April Court the same Supreme Court that is Justice Khanna had said that we are in our 60s we all know what happened when there were ballot papers you may have but we have not forgotten this is what he had said then now he said

[00:10:02] no Baba check look they're saying that if it is going to BJP then check the point that I'm trying to make is isn't it simple and isn't it prudent and isn't it actually the job of the government the job of the election commission

[00:10:27] to ensure that every voter feels safe every voters feels that listen you know Jam and Dabaiya was what would get the button I press I got that particular party got the vote isn't it fair isn't it just for me to expect that as a voter as a citizen of this country

[00:10:45] why doesn't the government allow the authentication of VVPATs that is all that a lot of opposition and even a lot of people are asking for just authenticate it VVPAT authenticate karo yaar done we are done with because every box that one asks for to ensure that it is absolutely error free is not ticked you are not following

[00:11:09] the following sigma 6 standards which means like I told you 3.4 out of 1 million who says aba have you heard so many stories so you're not following any of the boxes you're not following any of the norms so the fact is it is only fair that a normal citizen like me would ask saying that he can I air if that requires VVPAT to be authenticated let's do that let's go by the VVPAT

[00:11:35] but somewhere down the line this is something that the government doesn't really want to push or the government doesn't really want to implement and the ECI the election commission of India I was speaking to Mr. Madhav Deshpande

[00:11:51] and Mr. Madhav Deshpande had in my interview told me categorically that he is written he's a expert he's a software expert he has been working with a lot of countries like I said an absolute expert in software he's been writing to ECI asking them listen you know what let us work on a software which will

[00:12:12] safeguard which will ensure that there is no there is no error in VVPAT but he says that election commission has been opaque election commission has not been responding the same way Kamador Lokesh

[00:12:24] Bhattra told me that the election commission as in my interview again 9 o'clock I do these interviews they're really good if you have the time do watch it 9 o'clock live I normally do it on Monday Tuesdays Wednesdays and Fridays

[00:12:36] these interviews I have Kamador Bhattra had told me that you see he has been writing to election commission about electoral bonds earlier on they used to respond then they became absolutely non responsive absolutely non responsive opaque no transparency

[00:12:52] why is our election commission opaque why is our election commission not transparent why is our election commission not listening to us and why is the election commission not listening to the people for a change

[00:13:02] listen by all the data data poll and all BJP seems to be doing well so why do you need to even have a asperction cast that array your one because of EVM why do you want to do that if you think you're going to win

[00:13:18] simple thing let's have VVPAT authentication simple clean that's the point I make because end of the day as a citizen I need to be sure that my vote goes to the party that I've casted my vote for that's the point I wanted to make till I see you next time that's tomorrow at 10

[00:13:40] Namaskar

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