New Delhi, May 9 (UNI) The Election Commission of India on Thursday dismissed out of hand media reports that '20 lakh EVMs were missing' from its possession over the years.
It said that there was no truth in the reports, which were 'based on inaccurate and specious misinterpretation of partial facts obtained through Right To Information from multiple public authorities'.
Commission spokesperson Sheyphali Sharan stated that there is no truth in the contention in the media report that RTI-based Public Interest Litigation in the Bombay High Court, "points out that 20 lakh EVMs that the manufacturers affirm to have delivered were 'missing' from the possession of the poll panel.'
The report, she said, carried only partial and one-sided information, which was inaccurate and based on specious misinterpretation of the facts in the matter, thereby creating unwarranted doubts in the minds of general public.
Mismatch?
Allegations had been levelled in the reports that from 1990 to 2014, there was a mismatch of 20 lakh Electronic Voting Machines between delivery from two Public Sector Undertakings and possession of voting machines from the Commission.
The report, stated that a PIL was filed in the Bombay High Court in March 2018 based on the RTI queries from the Commission, and the manufacturers of EVMs- the Bharat Electronics Limited and Electronics Corporation of India Limited.
It also alleged financial irregularities in the exchange of the Commission and the manufacturers to the tune of Rs 116 crores.
The EC said, "it is reiterated that not a a single EVM moves out of the designated warehouse without prior approval of the Commission and strict compliance to administrative protocols prescribed for movement of EVMs and VVPATs (Voter Verified Paper Audit Trails).'
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