Ashish Kumar Anshu
Delhi : The Congress party claims on one hand that EVMs can be hacked, and on the other hand opposes processes like the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) aimed at cleaning the voter list. If the machines themselves are the instruments of fraud, why the reluctance toward an accurate voter list? This contradiction becomes clearer from the 2019 London episode.
In January 2019, at an event organized by the Indian Journalists Association (Europe), self-styled cyber expert Syed Shuja joined via Skype from America. His face was covered. He claimed that the 2014 Lok Sabha elections were influenced by EVM hacking, that Congress lost around 200 seats as a result, that Gopinath Munde’s death occurred because he knew about it, and that Gauri Lankesh was also targeted. There was no live demonstration and no technical evidence was provided. ECIL clearly stated that Shuja was not their regular employee and was not involved in the design or development of EVMs. The Election Commission called it a “motivated slugfest” and asked Delhi Police to register an FIR under IPC 505(1)(b). The Foreign Press Association distanced itself from the controversy.
The organizer of the event was Congress-leaning journalist Ashish Ray (President of IJA, Europe), who had sent a personal invitation to Kapil Sibal. Sibal was present and demanded an investigation. There were allegations that the event was Congress-sponsored. Reports also mentioned Ray’s connections with Congress-linked platforms such as the National Herald. According to technical experts and the Election Commission, EVMs are standalone machines; they are not connected wirelessly or via radio frequency and are only linked by cable in public view. Shuja’s claims involving a “military-grade modulator” or “frequency isolation” are inconsistent with this.
The same ecosystem’s link extends to Avi Dandia. Dandia is the Social Media Chief / Chief In-Charge of the Indian Overseas Congress. As an NRI video blogger and YouTube influencer, he handles the organization’s digital presence. On his appointment in 2023, he thanked Rahul Gandhi and Sam Pitroda. In 2019, he amplified Shuja’s EVM hacking claims, released live broadcasts and related videos. He also circulated fake audio clips on the Pulwama attack and EVM hacking, over which Delhi Police registered an FIR and fact-checkers described them as fabricated. Through Ashish Ray and Kapil Sibal, the mouse in this Congress ecosystem needs to be traced. If Avi is questioned, information about Shuja may emerge, because public dialogue and promotion between the two were visible as early as 2019.
The pattern repeated in 2024. Before the Maharashtra elections, in an India Today sting, Shuja, citing “frequency isolation,” offered to hack EVMs for around 53–54 crore rupees. No evidence was produced. Mumbai Cyber Police registered an FIR. According to sources, he is hiding in a third country. The 2019 case is also pending. In other words, “Congress’s darling” is evading the Indian legal process.
This connects to the opposition to SIR. SIR is the process of removing the names of the dead, duplicates, or ineligible persons. If EVMs are the problem, what is the objection to a clean list? Congress frequently raises the fear of voter exclusion, while in hacking allegations it invokes the rights of voters. There is selectivity in both places: if the results are unfavorable, doubt the machine; if the list is cleaned, doubt the process.
Historically, Allan Octavian Hume (a British civil servant, later based in London) played a major role in the founding of the Congress. He served as General Secretary. Decades in power meant less scrutiny of the original objectives. Today, making allegations against EVMs without evidence and using platforms like London appears like an attempt to spread distrust. Dhruv Rathee, while performing on Indian issues, hid from Delhi Police, fled to London, even though he lives in Germany. Why do the threads—from the birth of Congress to Congress-sponsored conspiracies—keep linking back to London?
Syed Shuja has still not come forward. There are FIRs against him; he is said to be abroad, and his claims continue to be part of unverified propaganda. In today’s debate, one must not forget that Congress-backed lying, cunning fugitive.
Congress should either present solid evidence today or accept the reliability of EVMs and processes like SIR. Otherwise, what difference will remain between the Congress party and the Syed Shuja it supports?
The Election Commission and technical committees have repeatedly clarified that EVMs are tamper-resistant. Now the side making the allegations must also meet the same standard
