After reports of faulty electronic voting machines disrupting the polling process in Andhra Pradesh surfaced on 11 April, Telugu Desam Party chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu asked the Election Commission to investigate it.
Addressing Telugu Desam Party’s complaint of faulty EVMs, the Election Commission had written to the party asking how a person with criminal antecedents could be a part of a delegation led by its chief, N Chandrababu Naidu, on Saturday, 13 April.
TDP responded to the letter sent by the Election Commission, saying, "We would like to state that instead of focusing on the issue, the Commission is trying to avoid the situation."
According to ANI, they also said, "The ECI is not willing to discuss with him stating the reason of the criminal case, while on many occasions he attended sessions on EVMs."
What Criminal Antecedents Was The EC Talking About?
Hari Prasad, a member of TDP’s chosen delegates, had been arrested in 2010 on charges of EVM theft. Prasad, along with two foreign researchers, had claimed that they had used the EVM to demonstrate two live hacks in order to prove that these machines weren’t tamper proof.
The EC, in its letter, has stated that when Naidu visited, he was accompanied by one Hari Prasad, who repeatedly raised various technical issues regarding the functioning of EVMs and claimed that he had technical expertise in the field.
The letter stated that it was decided Prasad would get a detailed briefing from the technical team of the EC.
“However, when this technical person came it turned out that he was Hari Prasad who was involved in a criminal case regarding alleged theft of EVM machine in 2010 which an FIR was filed...Whatever maybe the eventual outcome of the investigation, it would be appreciated that such antecedents do not inspire confidence.”EC letter to TDP
"This is completely intriguing as to how a so called technical expert with these antecedents was allowed to be part of the delegation led by N Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and President, TDP," the letter from EC, addressed to the president of the party's legal cell, said.
‘Revert to Paper Ballot System’: Andhra CM Naidu to EC
Demanding that the EC revert to paper ballot system, Naidu said, "We demand the Election Commission of India to revert to paper ballot system immediately to preserve the sanctity and protect the spirit of electoral process and democracy".
Alleging that the EC did not perform its duties in Andhra Pradesh during the recent first phase of polling, Naidu said, “It raises serious doubts that the constitutional duties of this great institution are not performed with objectivity, impartiality and professionalism”.
Further, the TDP chief claimed that there were inadequate police force at the polling booths despite making requests by the Andhra Pradesh Police Department.
Naidu alleged that the central government was interfering through the ECI and that it was working at the behest of Modi.
Andhra Pradesh voted for all 175 Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats on in the first phase of the parliamentary elections.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI.)
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