Congress workers present at the Bhopal strongroom have admitted that they did not see any tampering happen. (File image: Reuters)

With EVMs becoming a political hot potato in almost every election now, an India Today investigation has found not all accusations about machine tampering could be taken at face value, no matter the hype.

In Madhya Pradesh, senior Congress leaders raised an alarm about possible attempts to rig the EVMs after a power cut in a Bhopal jail on November 30 caused a CCTV glitch in the hall storing electronic voting machines.

"A report obtained from the Bhopal collector states that CCTV cameras and an LED display installed outside the strongroom did not function from 8.19 am to 9.35 am on November 30 due to the failure of electricity supply. Because of this, the recording could not be done during the given time period," the Election Commission clarified in its response to the Congress complaint. "An additional LED screen, an inverter and a generator have been installed in order to ensure continuous electricity supply."

India Today mounted its own investigation to determine whether it indeed was a security-camera snag, as the EC claimed, or a tampering attempt on the EVMs as the Congress alleged.

Remember, the accusations of possible machine rigging sparked panic among Congress workers, many of whom swarmed the Bhopal jail to protest.

India Today's investigation found no evidence of any conspiracy to manipulate the EVMs. What it discovered though is more startling.

India Today's SIT reached out to the Congress party's election agents in Bhopal district, Sayed Shahid Hussain and Munnawar Ali, who had signed off on the strongroom seals on behalf of their party.

The two men were authorised to inspect the jail hall housing the EVMs post elections.

Hussain, who was right at the scene in his official capacity when the power went off at the EVM strongroom on November 30, admitted that no tampering ever took place during or after the blackout.

"During that period, only a technician went in to fix the problem. If I look at it deeply and take off my political garb, I’d say it was only a technical fault," he told India Today's investigative journalist.

Hussain, the Congress party's Bhopal district general secretary, also vouched for the strongroom's impregnable security.

"Who all signed off when the strongroom was sealed a day before?" asked the reporter.

"I am the one standing right before you," Hussain replied.

"Were you shown them (the intact seals) again?" the journalist probed.

"Why not? The collector knows me very well now. He knows me by name. I have been in Bhopal for the past 25-30 days when the machines arrived," the Congress leader acknowledged. "I have been authorised by the district Congress committee (for EVM inspections). That’s what you need to look at. Leave the rest."

Hussain ruled out the possibility of EVM tampering.

"In my view, it’s impossible," he remarked. "The strongroom is locked and guarded by the paramilitary. No one dares. They (security) is armed with 20-round rifles. They understand nothing but shoot at the sight of suspects," he said.

Hussain also confirmed the strongroom had no other entrance for anyone to break into it. "Breaking into it is impossible," he said.

Hussain, however, confessed that the party leadership created a furore over something that did not happen.

"Was it the media hype created by the Congress party?" asked the reporter.

"We just wanted an issue. But it worked in our favour. It alerted the BJP and the administration. Whatever we raised through the media, from an educated point of view, cautioned them against making any unscrupulous attempts," Hussain admitted.

He accepted that CCTV cameras shut down in his presence during the November 30 power cut. "I was present there along with Munnawar Bhai from the North (Bhopal). He is a former corporator. Then there was also Munnan Bhai from the BJP," he said.

The district collector, his deputy and the ADM were also present at the time. "Everybody signed off on the seals. I was not alone."

Asked if everybody was shown the signatures the next day, he said, "you can go and see it yourself right now."

Munnawar Ali, a former Congress corporator and another signatory to the strongroom sealing, also accepted that no tampering attempt was made on the EVMs.

Ali admitted that authorities, on their part, followed the laid-down rules for securing the machines.

"After they (the Congress leaders) created a ruckus on TV, I called two-three candidates... I reminded them that none of them came when they were asked to witness (the EVM transportation). I told them that they should have got the sealing done in their presence," he recounted.

He confirmed that the sealing was done in his presence. "I am telling you everything happened in front of me. There are two main gates, then there's a gallery, then barracks 150, 151 and 152. My signatures are on every seal and it's visible on CCTV footage outside."

He ruled out any manipulation attempt on EVMs. "If they (the seals) were opened, it would have left the part (of our signatures) torn."

SY Quraishi, a former chief election commissioner, recalled that complaints against the EVMs had been a common occurrence since they replaced paper ballot.

"Ever since we introduced the EVMs 20 years ago, every political party at some point or the other has questioned these machines. But after they win elections with the same machines, they keep quiet instead of taking back their words or apologising," the former CEC noted.

He, however, maintained that the electronic voting machines could not be manipulated. "I have come on TV and written articles on the subject that the EVMs are 100 percent reliable, dependable and fool-proof. We also have multi-layer checks," he said, citing a range of security measures for the machines and their strongrooms.

Quraishi expressed fears that the escalation in controversies surrounding the EVMs might erode public faith in the election system.

"What is happening this time is that it is penetrating the minds of the people. If they lose trust in the machines, the election commission and in the electoral system, that will be very dangerous for India's democracy," he cautioned.

On its part, the Congress stoutly defended its complaint in the wake of the November 30 power cut at the Bhopal jail strongroom.

"When the Congress party collectively wrote a letter protesting to the election commission that you need to look into the apprehensions we have, it was based on certain ground realities," remarked party spokesman Sanjay Jha. "All of us have to be very vigilant after elections are over. That itself is a manifestation of the fact that India's democracy can be at peril if we don't believe that the EVMs are safe."

His party colleague's assertion in India Today's investigation, Jha argued, illustrated the Congress' distrust of the ruling BJP.

"In your own investigation, what did he (Hussain) say. We need to create a definite brouhaha over it, a hullabaloo over it because we don't want the BJP to try to infiltrate into the voting system," the Congress leader said. "It's a very unique, extraordinary intriguing mystery that every time an EVM malfunctions, if I have to go by the CEC's statement, or it's a malpractice, the gainer or the winner is always the BJP. ..That is something that raises more than the eyebrows. We don't trust the Bharatiya Janata Party."

The BJP slammed the Congress, accusing it of misleading the country over the EVM system.

Party spokesman GVL Narasimha Rao insisted that authorities executed a number of reforms in the EVMs after the BJP raised the issues.

"There have been reams of (EVM) malfunctioning which favoured the Congress party and which have been documented by many people," Rao alleged. "In fact, I have cited several such instances. Therefore, the question of Congress victories in the past has to be looked at as well. There is a reform today because we fought for it."

The BJP spokesman referred to the use of VVPAT trails, saying they capture record of every vote cast. "I can't think of even a handful of complaints. That gives me faith. Voters are satisfied. If the Congress is not satisfied with it, the people know it's a pure excuse which the Congress is looking for," he said.

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