In response to Elon Musk's recent comments on the vulnerability of electronic voting machines (EVMs), Rajeev Chandrasekhar, a former Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, has dismissed the concerns as overly broad and unfounded.

Musk, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), suggested that EVMs could be hacked by humans or AI, posing significant risks even if such risks were minimal. Chandrasekhar countered these claims, arguing that while Musk's concerns might be valid for regions where standard computing platforms are used for Internet-connected voting machines, they do not apply to India's unique EVMs.

He clarified that Indian EVMs are custom-designed to be secure and are completely isolated from any form of network, making them impervious to external tampering. Chandrasekhar elaborated, stating, "Elon Musk's view may apply to the US and other places where they use regular compute platforms to build Internet-connected voting machines. But Indian EVMs are custom-designed, secure, and isolated from any network or media - no connectivity, no Bluetooth, WiFi, or Internet. There is no way in. Factory programmed controllers that cannot be reprogrammed."

Offering to demonstrate the robustness of India's EVMs, Chandrasekhar invited Musk to a tutorial session. Musk responded succinctly, "Anything can be hacked."

Joining the debate, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi supported Musk's concerns, describing Indian EVMs as a "black box" and questioning their transparency. Gandhi argued that the lack of scrutiny over these machines undermines the democratic process, calling for greater accountability.

In the midst of the heated discussion, BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya challenged Musk to test the security of Indian EVMs through the Election Commission of India, while criticizing Gandhi for questioning Indian democracy. Malviya stated, "Elon Musk or whoever else thinks they can hack the EVM should approach the Election Commission of India and take a shot at it. But why is Rahul Gandhi complaining about Indian democracy to Musk? What can Musk do?"

The controversy over EVMs isn't new, as opposition parties have previously alleged potential tampering by the ruling BJP during elections. However, Chief Election Commissioner Rajeev Kumar has consistently assured the public that Indian EVMs are "100% safe."