EVM Hacking: Kapil Sibal's presence was a distraction, says Ray

New Delhi: Seeking to clarify his stand in New Delhi on Thursday, Indian Journalist Association's (IJA) President (European Chapter) Ashish Ray, who organised a press conference at London in January, to demonstrate Syed Shuja's claims that the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) can be hacked, stated that presence of senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal 'distracted' the coverage from the real issue.

In an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat, Ray said, "The press conference was in the pursuit of news and the coverage is a testimony to the fact that whatever was said or not said, was news. We do not hold press conferences pre-judging its outcome. Kapil Sibal was entitled to be there, as I had invited all six national political parties to be there. But, perhaps, in the hindsight, we can say that his presence distracted from the real issue."

Ray further said that he had sent the invitation to the presidents of all the six political parties -- Congress, BJP, NCP, BSP, CPI, and CPI-Marxist, but none of these political parties had replied to his invitation except Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which 'made the complaint why they were not invited'.

Syed Shuja (whom Ray’s statement referred to as Syed Hyder Ahmad), who addressed the press conference through video conferencing, said he had worked on Indian EVMs and made startling claims about the BJP 'rigging' the 2014 General Elections.

When asked about the identity proof of Syed Shuja and the evidence over his claims, Ray said, "I did due diligence before inviting him for a press conference and I have got documents regarding the due diligence which was done. I was aware of this person for more than 3 months before I actually invited him. But, he did not turn up and then his performance by Skype was not good enough because of which a controversy erupted. I am here to ask for an investigation, it is really for journalists to investigate the matter because we should approach the authorities of US, to provide us the information in order to clear the air," he added.

Over the truthfulness of Shuja's claims, Ray maintained that he could not comment on the integrity of the EVMs as he was no expertise on the matter.

"But, I also want to say that, after the research done by some institutions, EC opted for the usage of VVPAT machines to re-confirm the voting results. Even four European countries rejected the usage of EVMs during elections and went back to the traditional way of voting through ballot papers."