Did Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar take a jibe at Elon Musk over EVM validity?

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar on Tuesday defended the integrity of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), stating that allegations of tampering and unreliability are baseless. Addressing concerns raised by critics, including a "global expert" who initially criticised EVMs but later lauded their efficacy, Kumar noted that there is no evidence to suggest any drawbacks or vulnerabilities in the machines.

"Global expert who criticised EVMs later lauded it," he said at the press conference to announce the polling dates for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections.

Read More | Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar to announce assembly election schedule shortly


"There is no evidence of unreliability or any drawback in the EVM... There is no question of introducing a virus or bug in the EVM. There is no question of invalid votes in the EVM. No rigging is possible. High Courts and the Supreme Court are continuously saying this in different judgments... What else can be said? EVMs are foolproof devices for counting. Allegations of tempering are baseless. We are speaking now because we don't speak when elections are on," he added.

The statement follows Elon Musk's claim that electronic voting machines should be eliminated due to the risk of being hacked, whether by humans or AI, noting that while the risk may be small, it remains significant.

"We should eliminate electronic voting machines. The risk of being hacked by humans or AI, while small, is still too high," the Tesla CEO had written in a post on social media platform X.

However, he had later lauded the Indian electoral process and the speed with which voting was completed with the help of the EVMs.

"India counted 640 million votes in 1 one day. California is still counting," the world's richest man had said in another post on X during the US Presidential election.