On Thursday, the Election Commission (EC) refuted the Congress's allegation that the electronic voting machines (EVMs) used in the Karnataka Assembly polls on May 10 were previously utilized in South Africa. The EC requested the party to reveal the sources that propagated such misinformation.
In a letter to Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala, the EC clarified that it had used new EVMs produced by Electronics Corporation of India Limited for the elections in the southern state.
The Congress had expressed concerns and sought clarifications about the "re-use" of EVMs previously deployed in South Africa during the Karnataka election in a letter to the poll panel on May 8. The EC countered the Congress's assertion, stating that neither EVMs were dispatched to South Africa nor were those machines used in that country.
Giving reference from official records, the Election Commission (EC) asserted that the Congress possessed concrete information that exclusively brand new EVMs manufactured by ECIL would be utilized in Karnataka. The EC further revealed that Congress representatives were involved at every stage of EVM logistics and commissioning for the polls in Karnataka.
In light of the Congress's dissemination of misinformation with the potential to foment rumors, the poll panel has demanded that the party publicly unmask the sources responsible for spreading such falsehoods.
The EC has also asked the Congress furnish evidence of measures taken in response to this matter by 5 pm on May 15. The vote count for the Karnataka elections is slated to commence on May 13.
(With inputs from IANS)
