https://www.thequint.com/politics/2017/03/01/maharashtra-civic-polls-show-evm-may-be-easily-vulnerable-machines

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Are EVMs really fool-proof?

The recent Maharasthra civic body polls show this may not be the case. (Rhythum Seth/The Quint)

POLITICS

| 6 min read

Maha Civic Polls Show EVMs May Be ‘Easily Vulnerable Machines’

Ashish Dikshit

Today, 6 hours ago

Engagement
Czlick here to collapse

Protests against “EVM scam” after results for Maharashtra local body
polls were announcedCandidates point out to discrepancies in votes cast
& votes counted

Shocking stories emerge from across the state (for instance, a candidate from Mumbai got zero votes)

The SC has already declared that EVMs in the present form are not foolproof; techies have successfully hacked into stolen EVMs

The
EC is likely to miss the deadline for making the system transparent by
adding a paper trail

On the evening of 23 February, an unexpected development shocked
Maharashtra as counting for local body polls in the state was ending.

Violence
erupted in Panchavati in the heart of Nashik city following complaints
of tampering of EVMs (electronic voting machines).

The city BJP chief’s son was declared the winner from the ward,
but the Shiv Sena claimed that the total of the votes received by each
candidate exceeded the total number of votes cast.

This led to clashes between Shiv Sena and BJP workers in the streets.

Soon,
mobs began vandalising and burning vehicles. Police had to resort to
lathi-charge and firing in the air to disperse the crowd of 800 people.
Nine policemen, as well as some local residents, were injured in the
rampage.

A similar charge of EVM fraud swirled in Pune, only the reaction was
thankfully non-violent.

In Yerawada ward, 15 candidates from
different political parties registered a complaint against the Returning
Officer (RO), alleging “misappropriation” of EVMs during the counting
of votes.

They claimed that a total of 33,289 votes were cast, but 43,324 votes
were counted. They demanded a re-poll using ballot paper.

A
police complaint has been registered against the RO.

As the State Election Commission, which conducts local polls, turned
down the demand for re-polling, a united opposition first held a protest
meeting. As more cases emerged, they took out a mock funeral procession
of replicas of EVMs on Tuesday, which were then symbolically cremated
at the Vaikunth crematorium.

Defeated candidates from all parties participated in this unusual
protest; many of them had shocking stories to share.

I was announced as the winner and given the official letter under
Section 149 (of the Representation of Peoples Act). Then we were asked
to leave. But when we began our victory march, after about an hour, we
were told that votes from one EVM were yet to be counted. And then
suddenly, the BJP candidate was declared the winner. 

Manisha Mohite, NCP Candidate, Pune

BJP MP Sanjay Kakde, who had played a crucial role in getting criminals
into the BJP fold, had accurately predicted the results for Pune. He had
vowed to give up politics if his prediction proved wrong. Opposition
parties now cite this claim as proof that the ruling party had
manipulated the poll results.

‘How Can I Get Zero Votes?’

In Mumbai, independent candidate Shrikant Shirsat got zero votes at the
booth near his residence in Saki Naka in the western suburbs.

I voted for myself, so did my family and neighbours. The EVM has to be
defective. How else can I get zero votes?

Shrikant Shirsat, Independent Candidate, Mumbai

Similar complaints are being reported from various parts of the state.
Efforts are being made to collate data.

A body called the Lokshahi Bachao Andolan has been formed in Nashik to collect data related to alleged tampering of EVMs.

In Nagpur, the NCP has threatened that it won’t let the mayor take oath unless an inquiry is conducted into the “EVM scam”.

In
nearby Amravati, an all-party bandh was called on Monday over the use
of EVMs. It received a good response, with market places remaining
closed.

Protests in Amravati against alleged manipulation of
EVMs. (Courtesy: majhavidarbha.com)

Call for an ‘Anti-EVM Movement’

Along with Nashik, Pune and Amravati, a protest march was organised in
Kolhapur too. Former High Court judge and social activist BG Kolse Patil
is now trying to unite all these protesters and launch a state-wide
agitation.

Going by Modi and Shah’s past, I strongly feel they may have
manipulated the machines. Many scams (relating to EVM fraud) are now
emerging. So, I’ve decided to launch a protest against them. We want
paper trail machines. If that doesn’t happen, we should go back to
ballot paper.

 BG Kolse Patil, Former HC Judge and Social Activist

The paper trail which Kolse Patil is referring to is an idea the
Election Commission of India is experimenting with. It’s officially
called the ‘voter-verified paper audit trail’ or VVPAT, wherein a voter
immediately gets a printout of his vote. This has to then be put into
the ballot box. So, every voter gets to see that his or her vote is
rightly registered and in case of recounting, the printouts can be
counted.

The Election Commission tried out VVPAT machines in 8 Lok Sabha
constituencies in 2014. This happened after the Delhi High Court ruled
in 2012 that EVMs in the present form “are not tamper-proof” and the
Supreme Court ordered the Commission to use VVPATs along with EVMs by
2019.

But the Election Commission is likely to miss the 2019 deadline,
according to BJP MP Kirit Somaiya, who had led an anti-EVM movement when
Congress was in power. He had said that “EVMs can be easily tampered
with, manipulated as well as hacked”. But after the BJP came to power in
2014, his stance has changed completely and he finds nothing wrong in
the system anymore.

The process of replacing old EVMs with VVPAT machines has started. The
Modi government has allotted Rs 5,000 crore for it, but it will take
10-12 years to replace all machines. Improvement is a continuous process
and it takes time. (Shiv Sena chief) Uddhav Thackeray and (NCP boss)
Sharad Pawar are making allegations as they have vested interests. If
they think there’s an EVM scam, all their elected representative should
first resign.

 Kirit Somaiya, BJP MP

Live Demonstration of EVM Hacking

Although the BJP is happy with the system today, before 2014, it would
complain of misuse and malfunctioning of EVMs. In fact, Somaiya and
Devendra Fadnavis, who is now Maharashtra CM, were present at an
anti-EVM event in 2010, where Hyderabad techie Hari Prasad had
demonstrated how easily an EVM can be manually manipulated at various
stages.

Hari Prasad was later arrested for stealing EVMs from the collector’s
office in Mumbai. The police officer who had handled this case recently
told MaxMaharashtra:

Today, a lot of allegations are being made (against the BJP). When
Congress was in power, the BJP had made the same allegations. In our
democracy, the priorities of political parties change with time… I feel
enraged.

Sanjeev Kokil, Retired Police Officer

In 2010, Hyderabad techie
Hari Prasad (centre) had demonstrated how easily an EVM can be
manipulated. (Photo Courtesy: indiaevm.org)

The State Election Commission has maintained that the entire election
process was transparent and foolproof. Talking to The Quint, Maharashtra
State Election Commissioner JS Saharia admits that there are various
issues involved in acquiring paper trail machines.

The Supreme Court has said that the VVPAT system has to be implemented
only in stages. Even the Election Commission of India has tried it out
only on an experimental basis.

There are a large number of
issues, including supply and finance. We will implement it as per the
order of the SC.

 JS Saharia, Maharashtra State Election Commissioner

When asked about the protests in Pune, Nashik, Kolhapur and Amravati, he
ruled out any possibility of re-polling anywhere in the state.

We take proper care. Machines are sealed in the presence of polling
agents. There is no possibility of tampering with the machines at all.
In any case, they are tamper-proof. The complainants have only expressed
suspicion. If anyone comes with proof, we will definitely probe that.
There is no system of re-polling as results have been declared. 

The defeated candidates in Pune, Nashik and Mumbai have announced that
they will move the High Court against the “EVM scam”.

Once the matter reaches the HC, the Election Commission as well as the
Centre will likely have to inform the court about the progress on
introducing the paper trail (VVPAT) machines. For, the court of the land
is already convinced that the present EVM-based system cannot be called
foolproof unless a paper trail is added to it.

The BSP and SC/ST Vote Assertion: Why UP is unique for SC/ST politics?

Supporters cheering at BSP chief Mayawati’s election rally in Agra recently. (PTI)

Updated: Mar 02, 2017 13:42
Lucknow, Hindustan Times

Circa 2012:

An animated discussion on the caste complexities of
the state is on at the sprawling house of a prominent Jat farmer in
Baraut village in Baghpat, the home district of Choudhary Ajit Singh,
national president of the Rashtriya Lok Dal.

A few men from their neighbourhood joined the discussion. They are
SC/STs.

After listening intently for a while, one of them retorted, “Gone are
the days when we feared Jats. Today, flushed with money and muscle
power, we determine the politics of Jat dominated western Uttar
Pradesh.”

He invited us to visit the neighbouring house where an election meeting
of SC/STs was underway. He was bang on. The blue flags of the BSP
fluttered in Jat dominated Baraut and Baghpat as BSP won both the seats.

Two years later Chaudhary Ajit Singh lost his traditional Baghpat Lok
Sabha seat in general elections, signalling the end of an era when Jats
controlled the politics of West UP by pressurising the Baggagecile
SC/STs to either stay at home or follow the diktats.

In a lighter vein, RLD leader Ajit Singh had once said, “We believe in
bullet and not ballot.”

The region was infamous for caste clashes and oppression of SC/STs but
2007 elections came as a watershed when Mayawati formed a majority
government, giving voice to suppressed classes in the state.

Mayawati’s mentor Kanshi Ram often described Uttar Pradesh as his
political lab to carry out experiments to achieve their goal of changing
the upper caste dominated democratic face of the state.

Way back in the mid 1980’s the BSP started its political journey with
full throttle attacks on upper caste to unite SC/STs. After the party
consolidated the base vote, Mayawati dangled carrot before the Brahmins
in 2007, offering them representation in power to broaden its vote bank.

Ten years later a beleagued Mayawati is blatantly moving from a
time-tested political trajectory of caste to communal politics, the base
of which is sheer arithmetic.

Political expert Dr Badri Narayan explains, “Mayawati has 25,000 to
27,000 SC/ST votes in almost every constituency. As no other caste is
seemingly inclining towards the BSP, she has decided to shift to
communal politics. It’s a strategy or experiment which may succeed or
fail. “

Her desperation to win the 2017 polls is reflected in her knee-jerk
action of picking up Quami Ekta Dal , dumped by the chief minister
Akhilesh Yadav. She even compromised her prime slogan of law and order
by giving ticket to infamous QED leader Mukhtar Ansari.

Ironically, in ensuing polls she faces the toughest challenge of keeping
BSP, brutally bruised by the BJP alive. Linked with the party are the
aspirations of millions of SC/STs especially Jatavs, whose political
empowerment is yet not complete.

Why SC/STs Deserted Congress

The Congress represented SC/STs for decades after Independence but their
status in society changed only after Kanshi Ram came on the scene. He
first built a network of SC/STs and aboriginal inhabitant employees
under BAMCEF ( All India Backward and Minorities Communities Employees
Federation) in 1972 before floating a political party in 1984.

Though Kanshi Ram, the founder president of the Bahujan Samaj mission,
hailed from Punjab, his acolyte Mayawati moved from Delhi’s Patparganj
locality to UP contesting her first by-poll from Bijnore. He made UP his
laboratory for various formulas to win elections.

Political analyst Badri Narain explains, “The two sub-castes of SC/ST in
Punjab – 17 percent Jatavs and 14 percent Bhangis –have always been at
loggerheads, whereas in UP Jatavs, a major chunk of the votebank were
rudderless.”

According to him the BSP leader also found the menace of untouchability
rampant in UP and thus decided to turn the state into Jatavarth (Jatav
land).

Professor Vivek Kumar of JNU says, “SC/STs for the first time found a
party led by their own caste as the Congress and other parties were
ruled by upper caste leaders . Aboriginal Inhabitant leaders were
subservient to them.”

Incidentally, Mayawati also never lost an opportunity to highlight her
Scheduled caste status. In all her speeches, she described herself as
‘Dalit ki Beti’. Kanshi Ram organised caste sammelans to unite the lower
caste. The glue was their highly anti upper-caste narratives and
slogans that touched the core of the voter’s heart. They had suffered
for long and found a saviour in him.

Later Kanshi Ram tested various caste formulas and rested only after the
dramatic rise of Mayawati to the chief minister’s chair in 1995, after
breaking away from poll partner Mulayam Singh Yadav.

It is in UP that Kanshi Ram and Mayawati tested waters in alliance with
the Congress. And it is in UP that they gave country its first
government by rotation in 1997 — BSP ruled for six months followed by
the BJP. But Mayawati pulled out of the coalition arrangement much
before the completion of one month. Their all acts were aimed at
alleviating SC/STs and grabbing power.

Again it is in UP that Mayawati constructed a rainbow coalition of
Brahmins ,SC/STs and Muslims to gain full majority in a 404-member (one
member is nominated) house in 2007 and now SC/ST-Muslim combination.

Alongside, Kanshi Ram worked tirelessly in states like Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Bihar and Punjab but could make little headway
as the BJP and the Congress dominated the states and there was little
space for the BSP to expand. On the other in UP, the Congress was
growing weak after the demolition of the disputed shrine in Ayodhya
while the BJP was losing its most potent issue – the liberation of
Rama’s birthplace after the demolition of the shrine .

Mayawati became the country’s tallest SC/ST leader- a status once
enjoyed by Jagjivan Ram.

Why SC/ST-Muslim?

Mayawati’s political puissance is at test. Though she is seen as an
alternative to the ruling Samajwadi Party, the BJP’s 2014 rise is a
major roadblock as she will have to share the anti-incumbency space with
the saffron brigade currently riding high on DEMONetisation and
Narendra Modi’s popularity. 

Mayawati has given tickets in abundance to Muslims while her trusted
lieutenant Naseemuddin Siddiqui is touring the minority dominated areas.

She remains in the fight and could well be the dark horse. One
can surmise her party’s prospects from her statement “Just as BSP today
is a symbol of Bahujan Samaj’s dignity, Mayawati, in the opinion of
intellectuals,  nobody can ignore her.”

 
New Video of Amitabh bachchan after Gadha comment by Akhilesh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JYd8QZNdJs&feature=share

GANDHI: ‘ಯಾಕೋ ನಿಮಗೆ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಮತ್ತು ನನ್ನ ಮೇಲೆ ತೀವ್ರ ಅಸಹನೆ
ಇದ್ದಂತೆ ಕಾಣುತ್ತದೆ. ನೀವು ಹುಟ್ಟುವುದಕ್ಕೂ ಮುನ್ನವೇ ನನಗೆ ಅಸ್ಪೃಶ್ಯತೆಯ ಭೀಕರತೆ
ತಟ್ಟಿತ್ತು. ನನ್ನ ಬಾಲ್ಯದಿಂದಲೇ ಅಸ್ಪೃಶ್ಯತೆ ಕುರಿತು ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು ಯೋಚಿಸುತ್ತಾ
ಬಂದಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ಅದರ ಫಲವಾಗಿ ಇಂದು ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್, ಅಸ್ಪೃಶ್ಯತೆಯ ವಿಮೋಚನಾ
ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳಿಗೆಂದೇ 20 ಲಕ್ಷ ರೂಪಾಯಿ ಖರ್ಚು ಮಾಡುವಂತೆ ಪ್ರೇರೇಪಿಸಿದ್ದೇನೆ.
ಇಷ್ಟಾದರೂ ನಿಮಗೆ ನನ್ನ ಮೇಲೂ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಮೇಲೂ ಇಷ್ಟು ಸಿಟ್ಟೇಕೆಂದು
ಗೊತ್ತಾಗುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ?’

AMBEDKAR: ‘ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಅಸ್ಪೃಶ್ಯರ ವಿಮೋಚನೆಗೆಂದು ಹಣ ಖರ್ಚು ಮಾಡಿದ್ದರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ನನ್ನ
ತಕರಾರಿದೆ. ಒಬ್ಬ ಅಸ್ಪೃಶ್ಯನನ್ನು ಮುಟ್ಟದ, ಒಬ್ಬ ಅಸ್ಪೃಶ್ಯನನ್ನು ತನ್ನ ಮನೆಯೊಳಕ್ಕೆ
ಬಿಟ್ಟುಕೊಳ್ಳದ, ಒಬ್ಬ ಅಸ್ಪೃಶ್ಯನ ಸಂಕಟ ಆಲಿಸದ, ಒಬ್ಬ ಅಸ್ಪೃಶ್ಯನನ್ನು ತನ್ನ
ಸದಸ್ಯನನ್ನಾಗಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳದ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್, ಅಸ್ಪೃಶ್ಯರ ವಿಮೋಚನೆಗೆಂದು ಹಣ ಖರ್ಚು
ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಕ್ಕೆ ಏನು ಹೇಳಲಿ? ಅದು ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್‌ನ ವ್ಯರ್ಥ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನವಷ್ಟೇ.

ಆ ಹಣವನ್ನು ಅಸ್ಪೃಶ್ಯರ ವಿಮೋಚನೆಯ ಬದಲು ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ಸಿಗರ ವೈಚಾರಿಕ ಪ್ರಜ್ಞೆಯನ್ನು
ವಿಸ್ತರಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಬಳಸಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದಿದ್ದರೆ ನಾನು ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಸಂತೋಷಪಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದೆ.
ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಸದಸ್ಯನಾಗಲು ಕಡ್ಡಾಯವಾಗಿ ಖಾದಿ ಧರಿಸಬೇಕೆಂಬ ನಿಯಮವಿದೆ. ಅಸ್ಪೃಶ್ಯರ
ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ವಾರಕ್ಕೊಮ್ಮೆಯಾದರೂ ಊಟ ಮಾಡದವನು ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಸದಸ್ಯನಾಗಲು ಅನರ್ಹ ಎಂಬ
ನಿಯಮವನ್ನು ಕಡ್ಡಾಯಗೊಳಿಸಿ. ಆಗ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ನನ್ನಂಥವರು
ಅಷ್ಟಿಷ್ಟಾದರೂ ಗೌರವ ಇಟ್ಟುಕೊಳ್ಳಬಹುದೇನೋ’.

(1931ರ ಆಗಸ್ಟ್ 14. ಭಾರತದ ಎರಡು ದೊಡ್ಡ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿತ್ವಗಳು ಮುಖಾಮುಖಿಯಾದ ದಿನ. ಮಹಾತ್ಮ
ಗಾಂಧಿ- ಬಿ.ಆರ್‌. ಅಂಬೇಡ್ಕರ್ ಮೊದಲ ಸಲ ಒಬ್ಬರನ್ನೊಬ್ಬರು ಭೇಟಿಯಾದ ಚಾರಿತ್ರಿಕ
ಸಂದರ್ಭವದು. ಗಾಂಧೀಜಿಗೆ 62ರ ಮುಪ್ಪು, ಅಂಬೇಡ್ಕರ್‌ ಅವರಿಗೆ 40ರ ಹುರುಪಿನ ತಾರುಣ್ಯ.)

ಮಾನ್ಯ ಬಂಧುಗಳೇˌ
ಇನ್ನೆರಡು ವರ್ಷಕ್ಕೆ reservation ಹೋಗತ್ತೆ ಅಂತ ಱ ಮಾತಾಡ್ಕೋತಿದ್ವಿ.
ಎರಡೀ ವರ್ಷವಲ್ಲ. ಮಂಗಳವಾರ ಸುಪ್ರೀಂಕೋರ್ಟ್ ಏನು ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಪಡಿಸಿದೆ
ನೋಡಿ.

ಅವರು ಗೌಪ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಹೇಗೆ ಕಾರ್ಯ ನಿರ್ವಹಿಸ್ತಿದಾರೆ??

ಮನೆ ಮನೆಗೆ ಸಂದೇಶ ತಲುಪಬೇಕು.
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