The Election Commission of India today asked the political parties to feel free to hack their Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) this Sunday or Monday. The decision was taken at an all-party meeting the poll panel held today in New Delhi.

The all-party meeting with the Election Commission was called after a number of them, including the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party, alleged widespread tampering of the EVMs in the recent Assembly and municipal elections.

Representatives of seven national parties and 48 state parties were invited by the poll panel for the meeting at the Constitution Club in Delhi to reassure the parties that the EVMs cannot be tampered with and were secured. Most Opposition parties did not buy the Election Commission's argument.

Arvind Kejirwal-led AAP and Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) had alleged that EVMs were tampered with in the February-March state Assembly elections in five states and the recently-concluded Delhi civic polls.

Representatives of political parties at Election Commission meeting. Representatives of political parties at Election Commission meeting.

The venue of the meeting. The venue of the meeting.

AAP DEMONSTRATED TAMPERING OF EVM IN DELHI ASSEMBLY

Earlier, AAP legislator Saurabh Bharadwaj, in a special session of the Delhi Assembly earlier this week, had sought to demonstrate the procedure for tampering of an EVM.

The poll panel dismissed his assertion outright saying the machine used by Bharadwaj was a "lookalike" of an ECEVM and therefore could not be used to demonstrate "any magic" or tampering.

Referring to the Supreme Court judgment, Opposition parties maintained that there was an urgent need for the implementation of the apex court's order in connection with the use of VVPAT EVM machines during upcoming elections.

The issues of electoral reforms, simultaneous elections of assemblies and Lok Sabha were also discussed in the meeting.

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