The EC looks to file FIR, ECIL denies that ‘cyber-security expert’ was an employee as BJP targets Congress over Kapil Sibal’s presence at press conference.
New Delhi: The fantastical claims made by a US-based ‘cyber-expert’ on EVM machines used in India has blown up into a murky political slugfest with accusations and allegations of political conspiracy being traded across the board.
At the centre of the controversy is Syed Shuja, who claims to have been involved in the process of designing the Electoral Voting Machines (EVMs) between 2009 and 2014, but little is known about this ‘cyber-expert’.
So, who is Syed Shuja?
Sources in the Election Commission (EC) say it is in the process of finding out who Shuja really is even as the Electronic Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), of which the ‘cyber expert’ claimed to be a former employee, said no such person ever worked for it.
In a press release, the ECIL said it verified its records and “found that Shuja was neither on the rolls of ECIL as a regular employee nor was he in any way associated in the design and development of EVMs”.
Shuja’s claims lost further legitimacy as the Foreign Press Association, in a statement, distanced itself from his assertions.
The FPA, which along with the Indian Journalists Association (Europe), had organised the press conference in London, Tuesday tweeted that it “strongly dissociates” itself from Shuja’s claims and that not one of them can be corroborated.
The Foreign Press Association strongly disassociates itself with any claims made by the speaker Syed Shuja during the #IJA event in London yesterday. Not one of the masked speaker’s accusations have so far been corroborated.
— Foreign Press Association (@FPALondon) January 22, 2019
The EC, for its part, Tuesday wrote to the Delhi Police requesting that an FIR be lodged against Shuja. His statements, the EC in its letter to the DCP said, are violative of the IPC, and amount to “public mischief”.
Also read: EVM hackathon in London organised by Congress, claims Ravi Shankar Prasad
Political slugfest
The presence of former union minister and senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal at the press conference in London has become the biggest bone of contention among political parties.
“What was Kapil Sibal doing there?” asked Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad while addressing a press conference in Delhi. “In what capacity was Kapil Sibal there? Sibal was there to monitor the event for the Congress. He keeps doing such things.”
The Congress has distanced itself from Shuja’s uncorroborated claims, saying Sibal had gone there in his personal capacity. Its leaders, however, used the opportunity to once again reiterate their demands for the ballot paper.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav too echoed the Congress’ demands, urging the EC to look for an “alternative” to EVMs since the machines are “a threat to a vibrant democracy”.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav urged Election Commission of India to look for an alternative to EVMs, saying that such machines are a threat to a vibrant democracy
Read @ANI Story | https://t.co/PK2Nnh0sgy pic.twitter.com/Smy7gf6xM7
— ANI Digital (@ani_digital) January 22, 2019
Sibal, meanwhile, is out defending himself and arguing that Shuja’s claims of widespread rigging may not be unfounded. In an interview to ThePrint, Sibal said that the allegations merit an investigation at the very least.
Also read: Every Indian election since 2014 has been rigged, claims masked ‘US-based cyber expert’