Waikar OTP Case: Returning officer says 'EVM non-programmable'
Mumbai: Vandana Suryavanshi, Returning officer of the Mumbai North West constituency, stated that OTP was not used for the purpose of unlocking the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) as it was non-programmable. The machine does not have any wireless or wired communication capabilities, she said. Suryavanshi was addressing the media at the Collector's office in Bandra on Sunday.
Suryavanshi said that EVM's were standalone devices with no external connectivity and therefore it has no One Time Password (OTP) system to unclock them. "We seal the machines after voting and open them with the signatures of the counting agents on them", she clarified. However, OTPs were required at the ENCORE system where the Election Commission (EC) data was updated and EVMs had no connection with this, she added.
Referring to the controversy surrounding Shiv Sena Candidate Ravindra Waikar, Vandana Suryavanshi said that "On June 4, during the counting of votes, a mobile phone was found inside the NESCO centre. We informed the police immediately to act accordingly. The complaint was raised by candidates Surinder Arora and Bharat Shah who caught Pandilkar with a phone, and we handed over the phone and Pandilkar to the police to take cognizable action". However, the Vanrai Police registered the FIR after June 11. Police later told the EC representatives that ENCORE operator Dinesh Gurav had given his phone to Pandilkar.
Speaking on the issues related to sharing the CCTV of the incident with the police, Suryavanshi said that it couldn't be done until an order from 'a competent court'. She said that after declaring of results on the counting day, Kirthikar and his party had only made a claim about their counting agent counting more votes than Ravindra Waikar. They had lodged a written complaint regarding this on the spot. She denied any manipulation happening inside the NESCO centre where the counting was held.
Stressing on the impossibility of any EVMs being hacked, the returning officer said that there was no mention of any OTPs in the FIR lodged by the EC. However, it mentioned about the ENCORE process. ENCORE is an online system where the assistant returning officer uses an OTP to generate data entries. That is why the EC had allowed mobile phones inside the NESCO center, she said. Suryavanshi stated that manual entry votes were also counted three times in the counting centre.
Collector Rajendra Shankar Kshirsagar was also present at the press meet.
During the Lok Sabha Election of 2024, Ravindra Waikar of Shiv Sena's Shindhe faction had won by a very low margin of 48 votes against Amol Kirtikar of the UBT faction in Mumbai North West. The controversy erupted when Mangesh Pandilkar, a counting agent and close relative of Waikar, was accused of operating a mobile phone inside the counting center on June 4. Surinder Arora from the Bharat Jan Aadhar Party and Bharat Khimji Shah from the Hindu Samaj Party had registered a complaint in this regard at the Vanrai police station and the police had confiscated the phone from Pandilkar.
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Shivakumar opposes ‘One Nation One Election’, calls it ‘unworkable’
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday strongly opposed the central government’s proposed ‘One Nation One Election’ initiative.
Shivakumar expressed his views at a dialogue on ‘One Nation One Election’ organised by the Joint Parliamentary Study Committee.
He said the plan is a politically motivated, power-centralising scheme that would seriously damage India’s federal structure by weakening states and poses a threat to the democratic system, according to a statement from his office.
As KPCC president and deputy CM of Karnataka, he categorically rejected the proposal, stating that it is being crafted to suit the convenience of those in power at the Centre.
Shivakumar said that the Karnataka Legislative Assembly had already passed a resolution opposing ‘One Nation One Election’ and read out the resolution at the meeting.
He firmly stated that it is “not a workable plan” and added that it is “practically impossible.”
“If a government falls midterm due to political instability, a no-confidence motion, or loss of majority, what is the solution?” he asked.
“Elections are held at different times in different states for different terms. Karnataka had its election in 2023, while Tamil Nadu and Kerala had theirs in 2021, and Punjab and Telangana in 2022 and 2023, respectively. How can these elections with varying schedules be synchronised?” he asked.
He added that the proposal is a ploy to suppress the voices of regional and Opposition parties.
He also said the Karnataka government does not agree with the proposal and remains committed to the position of the Congress party’s national leadership.
