New Delhi: Entrepreneur-turned-politician Rajeev Chandrasekhar has challenged billionaire tech magnate Elon Musk's remarks regarding electronic voting machines (EVMs), dismissing them as a "broad, unfounded statement."

Elon Musk had expressed apprehensions about electronic voting machines in a post on X, suggesting their elimination due to potential vulnerabilities to hacking by humans or AI, even if the risk is minimal.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who previously served as Minister of State for the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in Modi Cabinet 2.0, countered Musk’s viewpoint, stating it might be relevant to the US and other regions employing standard computing platforms for "Internet-connected voting machines."

However, Chandrasekhar argued that this does not apply to India, where EVMs are custom-designed, secure, and disconnected from any network or media.

"This is a broad, unfounded statement implying that no one can develop secure digital hardware. Incorrect. @elonmusk's perspective may be relevant to the US and other places using regular computing platforms for Internet-connected Voting machines. However, Indian EVMs are custom-designed, secure, and isolated from any network or media - No connectivity, no Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Internet. That is, there is no entry point. Factory-programmed controllers that cannot be reprogrammed," Chandrasekhar tweeted.

The entrepreneur-politician also offered to provide a demonstration to SpaceX CEO Musk on the resilience of EVMs developed in India.

"Electronic voting machines can be properly designed and developed, as India has done. We would be pleased to offer Elon a demonstration," he remarked.

To this, Musk responded succinctly, "Anything can be hacked."

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi also joined the fray, supporting Musk’s stance. Gandhi, who has frequently questioned the integrity of EVMs, referred to them as a "black box."

In a post on X, Gandhi remarked, "EVMs in India are a 'black box,' and nobody is permitted to examine them. Serious concerns have been raised about transparency in our electoral process. Democracy risks becoming a farce and susceptible to fraud when institutions lack accountability."

Amid the ongoing debate, BJP IT Cell in-charge Amit Malviya issued a challenge to the Tesla CEO and criticized Rahul Gandhi.

"Elon Musk or anyone else believing they can hack EVMs should approach the Election Commission of India and attempt it. However, why is Rahul Gandhi raising concerns about Indian democracy with Musk? What can Musk do? Or is criticizing India before the world and disparaging it part of Congress’s DNA? We recently had an election, and the people of India rejected this dynasty for the third consecutive time. Yet he fails to grasp it," tweeted Malviya.

During the recent marathon Lok Sabha election, the Opposition had alleged the possibility of the ruling BJP tampering with electronic voting machines to manipulate poll outcomes. In response, Chief Election Commissioner Rajeev Kumar assured that EVMs are "100% safe."

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