Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, 27 January trained guns at Congress leader Kapil Sibal for attending the ‘EVM hacking’ press conference in London on 21 January and said that the democratic ethos of the country were questioned by the party on foreign soil.
“Entire nation was amused to see a press conference in London, where, on foreign soil India’s democratic ethos was questioned. And, who was spotted in that press conference? A topmost Congress leader. Is this your respect towards institutions and our democracy? Is this what our politics has come to? You will even go on foreign soil to undermine the mandate of the people of India. Congress will have to answer the people of India on this issue,” he said.
A self-proclaimed US-based Indian cyber expert on 21 January made a sensational claim that the 2014 Lok Sabha elections was "rigged" through the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), which, he said, can be hacked, a charge rejected by the Election Commission of India. Sibal was present at the meet.
Addressing a press conference in London via Skype, the man, identified as Syed Shuja, said he fled India in 2014 because he felt threatened in the country after the killing of some of his team members. Although he appeared on screen through Skype, his face was masked.
Shuja, who said he has political asylum in the US, claimed the telecom giant Reliance Jio helped the BJP to get low frequency signals to hack the EVMs. He provided no proof to back up his claim.
After he was caught up in a row for attending the press conference, Sibal on 22 January demanded a probe into the charges made by the self-proclaimed US-based cyber expert, terming them as “very serious” as they concern the survival of democracy in India.
"There should be an inquiry in the charges he (Shuja) has made. The Supreme Court and the law says there should be an FIR. It is your responsibility, if someone is making allegations it is important to ascertain whether the charges are right or not. If the charges are wrong, take action against him. If they are right, then it is a very serious thing," Sibal said.
"It sounds like a science fiction story to me. But, it can be verified also," he said, commenting on the charges made by Shuja.
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