'Defective' VVPAT Machines: Cong says EC should restore public confidence on integrity of poll process

New Delhi: The Congress on Friday termed as "most serious" report of the Election Commission identifying "defective" VVPAT machines and asked the poll body to take everyone into confidence to help restore public faith in the integrity of the electoral process.

The media reports have revealed that the EC has allegedly "identified 6.5 lakh VVPAT machines as defective" and has sent them to the manufacturers for repair, said Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera.

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The opposition party posed several questions to the EC, and said it must respond with full transparency on VVPATs to help restore trust in the election process.

However, referring to media reports regarding defects in VVPATs, the Election Commission has said that 3.43 lakh VVPATs were identified for preventive maintenance and not 6.5 lakh as reported. Officials have asserted that a defective VVPAT in no way gives erroneous result, but only signifies stoppage of functioning during poll process.

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Khera said the Congress is considering this a "most serious issue" affecting the very integrity of the electoral process as the number of machines in which defects have been found is allegedly more than one-third (37 percent) the number used in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

"Voters in the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, and subsequent Assembly elections, may have had their vote affected. VVPATs themselves were introduced as a measure to boost public confidence in EVMs. In an atmosphere of increasing questions on EVMs, defects at such a large scale require full transparency to restore public faith and trust in the electoral process," he said. (with PTI inputs)

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