London ‘Hackathon’ to defame India: BJP

New Delhi, January 22

A day after senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal was spotted at an EVM “Hackathon” in London were hack claims were made by a self-professed cyber expert, the BJP today launched an offensive against the Opposition party, accusing it of organising the event to “defame” India and the popular mandate of the people.

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad claimed senior journalist Ashis Ray, who organised the press conference, was a “dedicated Congressman, sponsored a trip of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi to London and was an active contributor to the National Herald, the Congress mouthpiece”.

“We will expose this claim,” Prasad said, slamming the Congress for “insulting” India and the people’s mandate in 2014 mandate. The party, he said, was looking for an “alibi” for its certain loss in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and the “false agenda” was all a part of its game plan.

“In what capacity was Sibal present at the event? He went there to monitor it on behalf of Congress. Is the Congress-sponsored event designed to defame Indian democracy and its EC,” he said. Also according to the top BJP leader, it was the Congress-led UPA that was in power in 2014. “So what is the logic in accusing us of hacking EVM when we were not in power,” Prasad wondered, ridiculing the London event as a “circus and political stunt”.

Prasad said he had never heard of Syed Shuja, the man who made the explosive allegations. “I could not understand this drama. He (Suja) offered no proof and nor did he present himself to questioning by the media. No evidence, no corroboration and no question and such big allegations were levelled,” he said.

Seeking political asylum in the US, Shuja yesterday claimed the elections were “rigged” through the electronic voting machines “which could be hacked”. — TNS