It is about time this
country reformed its voting system to ensure that the electoral verdicts
reflect the true will of the people of the country.
1. The Whole World has Discarded Similar EVMs
2. Use of EVMs is Unconstitutional and Illegal Too!
3. EVM Software Isn’t Safe
4. Nor is The Hardware
5. EVMs are Sitting Ducks
6. “Insider” Fraud a Concern
7. Storage and Counting are Concerns
8. Vote of No Confidence
9. EC is Clueless on Technology
10. Trust Deficit1.
The Whole World has Discarded Similar EVMs.
The electronic voting machines used in this country’s elections are internationally known as
Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting machines which record votes directly in electronic memory.
Similar
voting machines have been banned in many countries such as Germany, the
Netherlands, Irelands etc. and such machines are allowed in most states
of the US only with a paper back up. Potential dangers of “vote fraud”
and more importantly, lack of transparency and verifiability associated
with them prompted ban or restrictions of their use. Developed nations
like the United Kingdom and France and advanced countries in our region
like Japan and Singapore have so far stuck to voting on paper ballots,
owing to their simplicity, verifiability and voter confidence in the
system. India is an exception to this international trend and we
continue to use these voting machines long discarded by the world due
to lack of awareness and appreciation of the lay public of the
concerns.2. Use of EVMs is Unconstitutional and Illegal Too! Indian EVMs
may also be held unconstitutional because they infringe upon the
fundamental rights of the voters. In India, Right to vote is a legal
right but how that vote should be exercised by a voter is his/ her
individual expression covered by Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution,
which guarantees fundamental rights to the citizens. In the 2002 case
pertaining to disclosure of assets and the criminal background of
candidates, the Supreme Court ruled that voters have a right to know
the antecedents of the contesting candidates and this is fundamental
and basic for survival of democracy. Accordingly, a voter has the right
to know that his vote which he exercised as a part of freedom of
expression has really gone in favour of the candidate whom he/she has
chosen. This right, fundamental in nature, is absent in the electronic
voting system.
In the traditional paper ballot system, that
fundamental right was preserve because a voter knew exactly how his/ her
vote was recorded and Universal use of EVMs in Indian elections is
illegal too! In 1984, the Supreme Court of India held that the use of
electronic voting machines in elections was “illegal” as the
Representation of People (RP) Act, 1951 did not permit use of voting
machines in elections. Later, the R.P. Act was amended in 1989
incorporating Section 61A. However, the amendment says voting machines
“may be adopted in such constituency or constituencies as the Election
Commission may, having regard to the circumstances of each case,
specify.” Violating the provisions of the R.P Act, the Election
Commission has conducted 2004 and 2009 nationwidegeneral elections only
using electronic voting machines. Going by the 1984 judgment of the
Supreme Court, parliamentary elections of 2004 and 2009 may be held
illegal.3. EVM Software Isn’t Safe.
The electronic voting machines are safe and secure only if the source code used in the EVMs is genuine.
Shockingly, the EVM manufacturers, the BEL and ECIL, have shared the ‘top secret’ EVM software
program
with two foreign companies, Microchip (USA) and Renesas (Japan) to copy
it onto microcontrollers used in EVMs. This process could have been
done securely in-house by the Indian Worse, when the foreign companies
deliver microcontrollers fused with software code to the EVM
manufacturers, the EVM manufacturers cannot “read back” their contents
as they are either OTP-ROM or masked chips.
Amusingly, the
software given to foreign companies is not even made available with the
Election Commission, ostensibly for security reasons. With such
ridiculous decisions, the Election Commission and the public sector
manufacturers have rendered security of the EVMs a mockery. Adopting an
open standards policy by making the software public and allowing
parties to test the software installed in the EVMs would have offered
better
4. Nor is The Hardware. The danger for EVM manipulations is not just from its software.
Even
the hardware isn’t safe. Dr. Alex Halderman, professor of computer
science in the University of Michigan says, “EVMs used in the West
require software attacks as they are sophisticated voting machines and
their hardware cannot be replaced cheaply.In contrast, the Indian EVMs
can easily be replaced either in part or as wholesale units.” One
crucial part that can be faked is microcontrollers used in the EVMs in
which the software is copied. EVM manufacturers have greatly facilitated
fraud by using generic microcontrollers rather than more secure ASIC or
FPGA microcontrollers. Not just only microcontrollers, mother boards
(cards which contain microcontrollers) and entire EVMs can be replaced.
Neither the Election Commission nor the manufacturers have undertaken
any hardware or software audit till date. As a result, such manipulation
attempts would go undetected. To detect such fraud, the upgraded EVMs
have a provision to interface with an Authentication Unit that would
allow the manufacturers to verify whether the EVM being used in the
election is the same that they have supplied to the Election Commission.
The EVM manufacturers developed an “Authentication Unit” engaging the
services of SecureSpin, a Bangalore based software services firm.
The
Unit was developed and tested in 2006 but when the project was ready
for implementation, the project was mysteriously shelved at the instance
of the Election Commission. Several questions posed to the Election
Commission for taking this decision went unanswered. 5. EVMs are Sitting
Ducks. The Indian EVMs can be hacked both before and after elections to
alter election results. Apart from manipulating the EVM software and
replacing many hardware parts discussed above, discussions with
knowledgeable sources revealed that our country’s EVMs can be hacked in
many ways. I mention just two of them below. Each EVM contains two
EEPROMs inside the Control Unit in which the voting data is stored.
They are completely unsecured and the data inside EEPROMs can be manipulated from an external
source. It is very easy to read (data from) the EEPROMs and manipulate them. The second and the
most deadly way to hack Indian EVMs is by inserting a chip with Trojan inside the display section
of the Control unit. This requires access to the EVM for just two minutes and these replacement units
can be made for a few hundred rupees. Bypassing completely all inbuilt securities, this chip would
manipulate the results and give out “fixed” results on the EVM screen. The Election Commission
is completely oblivious to such possibilities. A demonstration of these vulnerabilities is on the cards.
6. “Insider” Fraud a Concern. Personal accounts from some well placed political sources and experts
say that there are some “insiders” demanding vast sums (Rs. 5 Crore for each assembly constituency)
to fix election results. Who are these insiders? Unlike in the traditional ballot system where only the
election officials were the “insiders”, electronic voting machine regime has spawned a long chain of
insiders, all of whom are outside the ambit and control of the Election Commission of this country.
There is every possibility that some of these “insiders” are involved in murky activities in fixing
elections. The whole world—except us in India–is alive to the dangers of insider fraud in elections.
The “insiders” include the public sector manufacturers of India’s electronic voting machines
namely, the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Electronics Corporation of India (ECIL),
the foreign companies supplying microcontrollers,private players (some of which are allegedly
owned by some political leaders) for carrying out checking and maintenance of electronic
voting machines during.
7.
Storage and Counting are Concerns. The EVMs are stored at the district
headquarters or in a decentralized manner in different locations.
Election Commission’s concern for EVM safety becomes apparent only
during elections, where as security experts say that voting machines
must remain in a secure environment throughout their life cycle. There
could be many malpractices associated with electronic counting.
“Everybody watches polling closely. Nobody watches counting as
closely),” says Bev Harris, an American activist. Our Election
Commission takes three months to conduct parliamentary elections but
wants counting to be over in just three hours! In the rush to declare
results
and the winners, several serious lapses go unnoticed in the
counting process. As a result, parties cannot give it the kind of
attention that this activity deserves.
Massive discrepancies between votes polled and counted in a large number of polling stations
across the country raise serious concerns in this regard.
8. Vote of No Confidence.The political class cutting across all sides of the divide has just one
verdict: “we don’t trust the EVMs”. This vote of “no confidence” stems from the personal
experiences of parties and leaders as well as the nature of results thrown up by the EVMs.
Parties are looking at EVMs with great suspicion and dread the prospect of EVMs “defeating”
them.This mistrust in EVMs is not confined to any single party and is all pervasive. Almost
all mainstream political parties, including the BJP, Congress, left parties, regional parties like
the Telugu Desam party (TDP), AIADMK, Samajwadi party, Rastriya Lok Dal (RLD),
Janata Dal (United) etc. have all expressed reservation about EVMs in the aftermath of 2009
Lok Sabha polls. Even the Congress party that decisively won the 2009 general elections alleged
that the EVMs have been manipulated in Orissa. Today, it is difficult to find parties that vouch
for the continued use of EVMs in Indian elections. On the contrary, there is a flood of opposition
to the EVMs from the political class. 9. EC is Clueless on Technology.The Election Commission
has adopted the EVM technology about which it has practically no knowledge.
As a result, it has little control over many aspects of the election process. None of the election
commissioners,
neither the present commissioners nor their predecessors, have proper
understanding of the EVM technology. The only source of technical
understanding for the Election Commission is a Committee of experts led
by its chairman, Prof. P.V.
Indiresan. Even the Expert Committee
seems very weak in its capacities and understanding. Alex Halderman,
professor of computer science at the University of Michigan and an
expert on the security of voting systems who was present in New Delhi
for the launch of the book, Democracy at Risk, Can We Trust our EVMS?
commented, “When I read the 2006 technical report prepared by the Expert
Committee of the Election Commission. I scribbled on it that there was
a cause for alarm and quickly decided to agree to come here.” That
speaks volumes for the quality and rigor of security testing done on the
Country,s EVMs.
10. Trust Deficit. Election Commission’s
conduct in the wake of the serious reservations expressed by people has
been unbecoming of a constitutional body. It has uttered many lies –
our EVMs are “tamper proof”, they are “different” etc. etc. It has
refused to provide any clarifications sought to the petitioners in the
Supreme Court, despite a reference from the Supreme Court of India. It
has taken several questionable decisions for which it has refused to
offer any explanations. For instance, it does not explain why old EVMs
were used in Lok Sabha elections despite the recommendations of its own
Expert Committee.
It does not explain why as many as 4.48 Lakh
new EVMs (which are more secure as per the Expert Committee) were not
used in any Congress party or UPA ruled states? Why and where it had
allowed
use of state government owned EVMs? The non-transparent conduct of
Election Commission in the use of EVMs and the farce of an “enquiry” it
has conducted following serious reservations on EVMs does not inspire
confidence in its unbiased functioning.
How EVM Works and how can changed it’s functionality Watch this video [youtube id=”ZlCOj1dElDY”
width=”620″ height=”360″]
- See more at: http://kohram.in/ten-reasons-for-banning-indian-evms/#sthash.5sue6t7S.dpuf
youtube id=”ZlCOj1dElDY” width=”620″ height=”360″ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlCOj1dElDY
India’s EVMs are Vulnerable to Fraud-Contrary to claims by our country,s election authorities, the
paperless
electronic voting systems used in India suffer from significant
vulnerabilities. Even brief access to the machines could allow criminals
to alter election results.
In this video, we demonstrate two kinds of attacks against a real Indian EVM. One attack involves
replacing a small part of the machine with a look-alike component that can be silently instructed to steal
a percentage of the votes in favor of a chosen candidate. These instructions can be sent wirelessly from a
mobile
phone. Another attack uses a pocket-sized device to change the votes
stored in the EVM between the election and the public counting session,
which in India can be weeks later.
These
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/pm-modi-s-estranged-wife-files-rti-on-her-security-625254
attacks are neither complicated nor difficult to perform, but they
would be hard to detect or defend against. The best way to prevent them
is to count votes using paper ballots that voters can see. indiaEVM.org
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br2Mjt1BecI - EVMs Can Be Tampered - Says Net India - Net India
company
says that the Electronic Voting Machines EVMs which are used in polling
stations can be tampered in favor of the candidates. Watch this to find
out more…..To watch live news, videos subscribe to CVR News @
https://www.youtube.com/user/CVRNewsO…-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1xov8mrLZc -
PM Modi’s Estranged Wife Files RTI on Her Security
Ahmedabad:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s estranged wife,
Jashodaben, has filed an RTI application asking for an explanation of
the sort of security that she gets from the government.
After Mr
Modi was elected in May, Jashodaben was given round-the-clock security;
she is protected by 10 commandos, five per shift, provided by the
Gujarat government. (Also Read: If He Calls Me Once, I Will Go With Him, Says Narendra Modi’s Wife)In
her three-page application, Jashoda Chiman Modi, a retired school
teacher who lives in Brahmanwada village in Unjha, Mehsana district, has
said, “I am the wife of the Prime Minister and as per protocol, I seek
details on what other facilities other than security cover I am entitled
to…I should be provided a certified copy of the order under which
security is provided to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s family members,
brothers, sisters and me.”She has also stated, “I travel by public transport while my security personnel travel in official vehicles.”
Her
application states, “Given that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was
assassinated by her security guards, I am frightened by the presence of
the security cover. So kindly provide me all details about the security
personnel provided to me.”In April, Mr Modi for the first time
publicly declared that he is married - he had not commented before that
on reports that he had an arranged marriage when he was 17. In election
papers declaring him a candidate for Parliament, he wrote the name
“Jashodaben” in a column regarding his marital status. He had left the
column blank on previous occasions, including in the last Gujarat state
election in 2012.The Congress party had said that Mr Modi’s failure to acknowledge his marriage suggested that he does not respect women.
Jashodaben
told a newspaper in February this year that Mr Modi left her after
three years, during which they spent some three months together; she
said they parted amicably.
Story First Published: November 24, 2014 20:07 IST
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/if-he-calls-me-once-i-will-go-with-him-says-narendra-modi-s-wife-625278
If He Calls Me Once, I Will Go With Him, Says Narendra Modi’s Wife
64-year-old Jashodaben(Mid-day.com)
Despite not having been with him for 43
years, the Prime Minister’s wife is sure that Narendra Modi still has
some feelings for her.
64-year-old Jashodaben, content to be
recognised as the PM’s wife, spoke at length to mid-day at her
relatives’ place in Mira Road yesterday, before she heads back to her
home state of Gujarat today.Perhaps it is the years of teaching,
but she seems outspoken. She asserts, hope gleaming in her eyes, that
she would go with Modi if he calls her even once. This was her first
visit to Mumbai after Modi became PM. The last time she was here was in
the’80s, when she was calling on an aunt in Sion. But things are
different now: her movement sets in motion an entire cavalcade.Wherever
she goes, five police officers of the Gujarat Police, provided to
escort her since May 30, accompany her. But she is not very fond of the
trappings of being First Lady. Remarkably, while she travels in an auto
rickshaw, the officers trail her in a sedan. She considers them a
nuisance: “They are everywhere now, even in Mumbai.”She
was married to Modi in 1968, and three years after they tied the knot,
she left Modi’s house and started on the path of her education, along
which her father was instrumental in steering her. She claims that she
doesn’t regret the course of her marital life much, because Modi, after
all, had gone for desh seva service of the country.While Mrs
Modi wants to speak, and does speak a lot, she has a hearing problem,
thanks again to a near-lifetime of teaching. For nearly 40 years,
Jashodaben worked as teacher in a primary school in Vadgam district’s
Rajoshana village, teaching Stds I to VII. At one time, she used to
teach 89 students and the “very noisy” kids took their toll on her aural
faculties. She retired five years ago.Now, Jashodaben fasts
four days a week, doesn’t eat rice and reserves all her prayers on Modi.
In any case, talking to us on Friday, she appears joyous, saying, “Yes,
there’s always a desire to be together, but the media portrayed it
wrong.” “I will go and do his seva, he just has to give me a call. If he
comes down to the building where I am right now and tells me that I
should go with him, I will immediately join him.I wish to be
with him. If he calls me, I am eager to start a new life with him. But
it has to be he who calls,” she says. She claims she had no problem
talking to the media even earlier, but there was pressure on her not to.
She didn’t say whom the pressure came from. In fact, for all these
years, she has been dying to be recognised as the PM’s wife, keen to
speak about her marriage, though she asks, “Kone kehva jau? (Whom do I
tell?)”
The question is spoken with a gesture that betrays
resignation to her fate. But when she speaks, it is about how she is
hopeful that someday she will get her due as Narendra Modi’s wife. Hope
had surfaced earlier this year when Modi acknowledged her as his wife
while filing his nomination papers from Vadodara for the Lok Sabha
elections. “I was elated, there were tears in my eyes.I thought
that now, as he had acknowledged me, things would change. Even he has a
liking for me, I am sure, and hence he wrote my name (in the nomination
paper,” she said, adding, “Temna manma mara mate ek so ek taka lagni
chhe. (In his heart, he definitely has feelings for me).”She
writes off the rumours that during elections, she was shut away in a
secret place. “I had been on a pilgrimage. I went to Gangasagar in
Kolkata and various other places of worship, for him. I was very happy
when he won.” Asked if she wished to go on tours with Modi, as wives of
Prime Ministers are wont to do, she said, “How could I? But, if he shows
me respect and calls me, I will.”Jashodaben sports all the
insignia of a married woman. She has on sindoor, a tika and a
mangalsutra. The necklace had broken once, so she had stopped wearing
it, but when Modi publicly declared that she was his wife, she got a new
one. She follows every custom a wife does, and claims she will do so
all her life.
Papayda wife hai and husband motor car mein
Surprise Surprise, the news is coming in that Yashoda Bhen Modi,
estranged wife of Narindra Modi has filed an RTI application, asking
information on what was her entitlement about receiving the State
security cover being the wife of the Prime Minister of India. She
appeared on the TV and said that wherever she goes she travels by public
transport but her security guards who accompany her are usually using
government vehicles. More crucially, she pointed out that Mrs Indra
Gandhi was killed by her security guards and she is concerned whether
the security staff has been duly screened before giving the job to them
and whether she should feel safe in their company???.
Needless to say that the security cover is the responsibility of the
Gujarat State and not the Central government. So it is not clear who has
advised her to write to the Central Administration for information
under the RTI Act.
Devinder
Deshmukh | 2 days ago
Permalink | Share | Report Abuse | Like (68) | Unlike (54)
@Anonymous: Private life? Modi has a record of doing fekugiri and then
leaving people in a lurch.. ….She is just another victim of an
egoistic man who like to feed on self praise. Modi has risen high to
only fall harder. The law of kamma i.e., cause and condition from these
people will bite him hard.
Sachin | 2 days ago
Permalink | Share | Report Abuse | Like (64) | Unlike (34)
@Anonymous: Oh really! where were you when Feku was peeping into a girl’s life? Oh, i forgot, Andhe bhakts cant see that.
Anonymous | 2 days ago
-
LSD | 2 days ago@Lal Chandran Nair: didn’t u see Modi’s
marriage picture? See for itself if she was a child then or not. Modi
left her for sure. If u can’t fix your own house how could u fix a
nation? This is all a sham.
-
Raman | 2 days ago@Lal Chandran Nair: She should be happy that
a person like modi is not in her life. he would have tortured her. modi
has no respect for any women. -
Amar | 2 days ago@Lal Chandran Nair: madam, stop considering modi as your husband. he is not worth it!!
-
Logical Indian | 2 days ago@Lal Chandran Nair: why did Modi leave this
women. Any issue of extra marital affairs. did modi have some other
women in his life or does he not like women at all and like only men or
something else.
Deshmukh | 3 days ago
Maaji, he left you. Please accept the fact.
He even kicked his mentors advani,jaswant singh and murli manohar. He is
a kite that has been flying high and has forgotten that he is still
connected down. Every bhakt should think how they would feel if their
father has left their mother in 3-4 months before supporting that thug
Anonymous | 2 days ago
@Deshmukh: When home is not swatch , how
could the country be. Mr.Strongman, get ur act starting from hom
-
star | 3 days agoModi claims he is 61 , but his wife is
64…….DO you guys believe Feku? He is again faking….wa re FEKU
champ.
John Paul | 3 days agoso what if it was a child marriage? Big deal he was 17 and not below 10
or something. How can leave this poor soul alone? If this happens in the
US it could have been impossible for any one to win an election. Human
value is the phrase in US and idol worship is the word in India. Or else
how could have Modi win an election in spite of this saga?