EC refutes Mayawati allegations, says 'EVMs electronically protected'

New Delhi: The Election Commission (EC) has refuted the allegations of tampering of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), as levelled by BSP supremo Mayawati on Saturday. The EC said that the EVMs could not be tampered with and that candidates are allowed to randomly check the machines before the actual voting. "The machine is both mechanically and electronically protected to prevent any tampering/manipulation. The programme used in these machines is burnt into a onetime programmable chip so that it cannot be altered or tampered with," the EC said in its reply to Mayawati. "These machines are not networked either by wire or by wireless to any other machine or system. Therefore, there is no possibility of its data corruption," it added. The EC further said that "candidates and their representatives are allowed to conduct mock polls on EVMs at the time of candidate setting and also before the actual poll on the day to satisfy themselves about the satisfactory functioning of EVMs being used". Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati had earlier in the day alleged that the EVMs used in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand assembly polls had been tampered with in a way that every vote goes to the BJP. In a letter to the EC, Mayawati asked the poll panel to hold the results of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarkahand assembly elections and do re-polling using paper ballots. Even former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said that if a political party is levelling such serious allegations, the EC should look into it. The EC, however, dismissed her plea saying there was no foul play involved.