Kapil Sibal says ‘launch thorough probe into EVM hacker’s claims’ 

Kapil Sibal.

Former Union minister and senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal, on Tuesday, demanded a thorough investigation into the sensational claims made by a self-proclaimed cyberexpert, Syed Shuja. The Congress is trying to distance itself from the entire episode.  

Meanwhile, the BJP has launched a scathing attack on the Congress as Sibal was present at the London event where the “cyberexpert” made the startling claims.

While denying that he was saying Shuja’s claims were right, Sibal said, “If his claims are wrong, act against him. But a proper investigation is needed. I didn’t ask him to work on EVMs. I didn’t get him political asylum. It is childish to blame to me. It is about the fate of India’s democracy. Truth has to be found out as even if 50 per cent of his claims are right, it is very dangerous.”

To clarify his visit to the conference, Sibal said, “Journalist Ashish Ray, who organized the event, sent me a personal e-mail inviting me to the event. I know Ray for long and I had to go to London for some work, so I went to the press conference. Ray told me he had sent invitations to all political parties as well as the Election Commission of India. So, I went there. A minister (Ravi Shankar Prasad) made very irresponsible remarks and that’s why I am holding this press conference I didn’t intend to.”

Congress spokesman Anand Sharma stated that the party had nothing to do with the event in London where the sensational allegations were made over a video link from the US. He said, “We don’t know where and why Kapil Sibal went. It was not a Congress press conference.”

He further added that the opposition parties had jointly petitioned President Ram Nath Kovind and the Election Commission for a return to ballot papers long ago.

Meanwhile, Dhananjay Munde, who is a senior Nationalist Congress Party leader and the nephew of deceased BJP senior leader Gopinath Munde, has demanded a probe into the claims made by Shuja. Shuja had claimed that Munde was killed because he got to know the “truth” of the EVM machines and was hence killed.

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