Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala:

BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Sunday said that it is disappointing that students have been disadvantaged, adding that the government has taken good steps on the NEET UG exam issue.

“It is disappointing that students have been disadvantaged. But as Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said the government is committed to making sure that these examinations are done in a secure manner and those who are meritorious are the ones who benefit from these exams, not those who are corrupt and crooked. I think the steps that have been taken by the government of India are good and solid steps that will give a lot of confidence to the students,” Mr Chandrasekhar told ANI.

The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducted the NEET-UG exams, is facing criticism over alleged irregularities in the exams. This resulted in several protests across the country, with protestors and political parties demanding to disband the NTA.

An unprecedented 67 candidates achieved a perfect score of 720 marks out of 720, which added to the concerns.

The Ministry of Education said it has constituted a high-level committee of experts to make recommendations on reforms in the mechanism of the examination process, improvements in data security protocols and the functioning of the NTA.

The 7-member committee, led by ISRO former chairman Dr K. Radhakrishnan, will submit its report to the ministry in the next two months.

“In order to ensure transparent, smooth and fair conduct of examinations through the National Testing Agency (NTA), the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education constituted a High-Level Committee of Experts to make recommendations on reform in the mechanism of examination process improvement in data security protocols and the structure and functioning of National Testing Agency,” the ministry said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who had offered US billionaire Elon Musk a “tutorial” on Indian Electronic Voting Machines, today doubled down on his argument, saying going by the Tesla chief’s logic, “every Tesla car can be hacked”.

Responding to Mr Musk’s claim that “everything can be hacked”, Mr Chandrasekhar, who headed the Union ministry of Electronics and Information Technology during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s second tenure, said, “I think he is factually incorrect in saying that”.

“A calculator or a toaster cannot be hacked. Therefore, there is a limit in terms of where this paradigm of hacking can extend,” he told news agency ANI. “He (Elon Musk) is factually wrong… To claim that there cannot be a secure digital product in the world is to then say that every Tesla car can be hacked,” he added.

Mr Musk would be right only if the machines in question are connected like phones or computers, which EVMs are not, Mr Chandrasekhar had earlier argued. “Elon Musk’s view may apply to the US and other places – where they use regular compute platforms to build internet-connected voting machines,” he had said.

“Elon Musk has not understood what the Indian EVM is. Indian EVMs do not lend themselves to being hacked because they are precisely a very limited-intelligence device,” he explained today.

The Tesla chief had set the ball rolling over the weekend with his post questioning the reliability of EVMs.

“We should eliminate electronic voting machines. The risk of being hacked by humans or AI, while small, is still too high,” he had posted on X in response to Independent US Presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr’s post on reports that Puerto Rico’s elections saw voting irregularities in hundreds of EVMs.

As the Opposition used the post to support its reservations about EVMs, Mr Chandrasekhar claimed that Mr Musk’s comment was a “huge sweeping generalisation”.

“This is a huge sweeping generalisation statement that implies no one can build secure digital hardware. Wrong,” replied the former minister. “No connectivity, no bluetooth, wifi, Internet; there is no way in. Factory-programmed controllers that cannot be reprogrammed. Electronic voting machines can be architected and built right as India has done. We would be happy to run a tutorial, Elon,” his post read.

“Anything can be hacked,” shot back Mr Musk.

Coming amid reports that claimed a relative of Ravindra Waikar, Shiv Sena MP from Mumbai North West, was using a phone that could be connected to an EVM, Mr Musk’s comments fuelled massive Opposition criticism.

Congress’s Rahul Gandhi said EVMs in India “are a ‘black box” and “nobody is allowed to scrutinize them”. “Serious concerns are being raised about transparency in our electoral process,” he added.

“When risks of EVM tampering are being flagged in several elections across the world and well-known technology experts are flagging risks, the BJP must clear the air on why they are bent on using EVMs,” posted Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.

Rajya Sabha MP and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi flagged the reports on Mumbai election. “This is a fraud at the highest level and yet the @ECISVEEP continues to sleep,” she said in a post on X.

Calls for a return to paper ballot has already been decisively turned down by the Supreme Court, which said the machines offer significant advantages. They have eliminated booth capturing and invalid votes, reduce paper wastage and  expedite the counting process minimizing errors, the judges have said.
   

New Delhi:

Following the Congress’s announcement that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest from Wayanad, while Rahul Gandhi will retain the Raebareli seat, former Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rajeev Chandrashekhar on Monday hit out at the party, alleging that there is “shamelessness” and the party is imposing one member after another of their dynasty on voters of Wayanad.

Earlier today, Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge announced that Priyanka Gandhi will contest from the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, while her brother and leader Rahul Gandhi will retain the party’s bastion- Raebareli.

Taking to ‘X’, Mr Chandrashekhar wrote, “There is shamelessness and there is Cong type of shamelessness – imposing one member after another of their dynasty on voters of Wayanad – after shamelessly hiding the fact that Rahul was contesting from another constituency.”

There is shamelessness and there is Cong type of shamelessness – imposing one member after another of their dynasty on voters of Wayanad – after shamelessly hiding the fact that Rahul was contesting from another constituency.

This pattern of betrayal is reason why Cong has seen… https://t.co/W6hKnhKMtA

— Rajeev Chandrasekhar (@RajeevRC_X) June 17, 2024

There is shamelessness and there is Cong type of shamelessness – imposing one member after another of their dynasty on voters of Wayanad – after shamelessly hiding the fact that Rahul was contesting from another constituency.

The BJP leader further alleged that this pattern of betrayal is the reason why the party has witnessed defeat for a consecutive third term.

“This pattern of betrayal is the reason why Cong has seen 3rd poll defeat under Rahul Gandhi”, he said.

The decision of the Congress party came after top party leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, general secretaries KC Venugopal and Priyanka Gandhi held a meeting at the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to decide which Lok Sabha seat Rahul Gandhi would retain.

Rahul Gandhi, who contested from two seats — Rae Bareli and Wayanad, won both constituencies by huge margins.

Rahul Gandhi won the seat of Rae Bareli by defeating BJP’s Dinesh Pratap Singh by a margin of 3,90,030 votes. Gandhi had contested this seat aiming to save the lone bastion of the party in the state after he lost Amethi in 2019.

The Congress leader also won the seat of Wayanad, which paved his entry to the Lok Sabha in 2019. He defeated Communist Party of India-Marxist candidate Annie Raja by 3,64,422 votes.

Meanwhile, Priyanka Gandhi is finally making her electoral debut from the Wayanad seat after Rahul Gandhi vacated the seat by keeping the family bastion of the Raebareli seat.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Tesla chief Elon Musk and former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar have started a debate on X (formerly Twitter) on whether the world should switch to paper voting and discard electronic voting machines (EVMs) over possible risks of being hacked and manipulated.

Later, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also joined in, backing Mr Musk’s apprehension of EVMs.

Mr Musk set the ball rolling with his post questioning EVMs’ reliability, referring to media reports that Puerto Rico’s elections saw voting irregularities in hundreds of EVMs.

“Luckily, there was a paper trail so the problem was identified and vote tallies corrected,” independent US presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr said in a post on X.

Mr Chandrasekhar, who headed the electronics and information technology ministry in the previous government, in his reply to Mr Musk indicated the X owner’s comment made it seem like “no one can build secure digital hardware.”

The former Union Minister said he’d be happy to run a tutorial for Mr Musk on how to build a secure EVM.

“This is a huge sweeping generalisation statement that implies no one can build secure digital hardware. Wrong. Elon Musk’s view may apply to the US and other places – where they use regular compute platforms to build internet-connected voting machines,” Mr Chandrasekhar said in a reply to Mr Musk’s post that EVMs weren’t reliable.

This is a huge sweeping generalization statement that implies no one can build secure digital hardware. Wrong. @elonmusk ‘s view may apply to US n other places – where they use regular compute platforms to build Internet connected Voting machines.

But Indian EVMs are custom… https://t.co/GiaCqU1n7O

— Rajeev Chandrasekhar (@RajeevRC_X) June 16, 2024

India used EVMs in the recently held Lok Sabha elections. Many political leaders, mostly from the Opposition parties, had said the same thing as Mr Musk has said, i.e. EVMs need to be replaced with paper voting, for any doubt in voters’ minds can wipe out trust from the entire democratic exercise.

Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav Join EVM Debate

Mr Gandhi, too, has been a fierce critic of EVMs. “EVMs in India are a ‘black box,’ and nobody is allowed to scrutinise them. Serious concerns are being raised about transparency in our electoral process. Democracy ends up becoming a sham and prone to fraud when institutions lack accountability,” Mr Gandhi said in response to Mr Musk’s post.

EVMs in India are a “black box,” and nobody is allowed to scrutinize them.

Serious concerns are being raised about transparency in our electoral process.

Democracy ends up becoming a sham and prone to fraud when institutions lack accountability. https://t.co/nysn5S8DCFpic.twitter.com/7sdTWJXOAb

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 16, 2024

His Opposition INDIA bloc ally, Mr Yadav, said technology experts around the world are openly writing about the dangers of EVM tampering. “We reiterate our demand that all future elections be conducted using ballot papers,” Mr Yadav said.

Referring to Indian EVMs, Mr Chandrasekhar said they are custom designed and isolated from any kind of network or media. “… no connectivity, no Bluetooth, Wi-FI, internet, i.e. there is no way in. (There are) factory programmed controllers that cannot be reprogrammed. Electronic voting machines can be… built right as India has done…”

To this, Mr Musk replied, “Anything can be hacked”.

The former Union Minister agreed that “anything is possible”, at least in theory. “… With quantum compute, I can decrypt any level of encryption. With lab-level tech and plenty of resources, I can hack any digital hardware/system including the flight controls of a glass cockpit of a jet, etc. But that’s a different type of conversation from EVMs being secure and reliable…”

The Supreme Court has also ruled it can’t dictate the functioning of the Election Commission (EC), a constitutional authority, on the matter of EVMs. The EC has long maintained India’s EVMs are foolproof.

An EVM has a control unit and a balloting unit. These are connected by a cable. These are also connected with a VVPAT — Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail — machine. This machine enables a voter to see if the vote was cast properly and went to the candidate he/she supports.

European nations have reverted to the ballot voting system.

New Delhi:

Former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Sunday that Elon Musk’s take on eliminating electronic voting machines (EVMs) from voting is a “huge sweeping generalisation” which holds no truth, inviting the Tesla CEO to come and learn some lessons in India.

Responding to the tech billionaire’s post on X, which alleged that electronic voting machines should be eliminated as the “risk of being hacked by humans or AI, while small, is still too high,” Mr Chandrasekhar said this is not the case at all.

READ | “We Should Eliminate EVMs”: Elon Musk Flags Risk Of Poll Rigging

“This is a huge sweeping generalisation statement that implies no one can build secure digital hardware. Wrong,” replied the former minister.

This is a huge sweeping generalization statement that implies no one can build secure digital hardware. Wrong. @elonmusk ‘s view may apply to US n other places – where they use regular compute platforms to build Internet connected Voting machines.

But Indian EVMs are custom… https://t.co/GiaCqU1n7O

— Rajeev Chandrasekhar (@RajeevRC_X) June 16, 2024

According to Mr Chandrasekhar, Mr Musk’s view may apply to the US and other places where they use regular computing platforms to build “Internet-connected Voting machines.”

Mr Musk had reacted to Puerto Rico’s primary elections which allegedly experienced voting irregularities.

Mr Chandrasekhar further rejected Mr Musk’s statement, saying that Indian EVMs are custom-designed, secure and isolated from any network or media.

“No connectivity, no bluetooth, wifi, Internet; there is no way in. Factory-programmed controllers that cannot be reprogrammed,” informed the former minister.

“Electronic voting machines can be architected and built right as India has done. We would be happy to run a tutorial, Elon,” Mr Chandrasekhar added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Hours after some opposition leaders, including Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra, claimed that they had received messages from Apple warning of ‘state-sponsored’ hackers trying to access their iPhones, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has posed a series of pointed questions to the tech giant. 

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday, the minister of state for electronics and information technology asked Apple to clarify whether its devices are secure and said the government will also investigate how true the company’s much-vaunted focus on privacy is. 

The minister asked the company to explain why “threat notifications” were sent to people in over 150 countries and pointed out that the company, which is the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer, had made repeated claims that its products are designed with privacy in mind. 

Mr Chandrasekhar asserted that the government is “committed and duty bound to protect the privacy of our citizens and we take this responsibility very seriously”. He said the government will investigate these threat notifications as well as Apple’s claims of making “secure and privacy compliant devices”. His post had the hashtag “privacy is a fundamental right”.

After tdys “threat notifications” being recd by many people incldng MPs and those in geopolitics, we expectnApple to clarify the following

if its devices are secure ;

why these “threat notifications” are sent to people in over 150 countries ;

bcoz apple has repeatedly…

— Rajeev Chandrasekhar (@Rajeev_GoI) October 31, 2023

IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also said that the government “takes its role of protecting privacy and security of all citizens very seriously” and that a detailed investigation had been ordered.

Opposition Attacks

Apart from Mr Tharoor and Ms Moitra, Priyanka Chaturvedi of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Pawan Khera of the Congress posted screenshots of the messages or emails they received from Apple.

Addressing a press conference, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi Rahul read out Apple’s warning and said party leaders like Mr Khera and KC Venugopal, and several other opposition leaders had received it. Attacking the government, Mr Gandhi said, “Do as much phone tapping as possible, you can take my phone, I am not scared.” 

Apple Statement

In a statement on its technical support page Apple said it “does not attribute the notifications to any specific state-sponsored attacker”. The manufacturer also said that some notifications may be false alarms”.

“It is possible some notifications may be false alarms or that some attacks are not detected,” the statement said. 

Thiruvananthapuram:

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday slammed senior BJP leader and Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar for his social media posts criticising him over a blast at a convention centre in Kalamassery, saying it was part of his communal stand.

Without naming Rajeev Chandrasekhar, he, during a press conference here, sought to know based on what information the union minister made such remarks against him and how a person holding a responsible position could come out with such statements while the investigation was going on.

During the brief press meet held at the Secretariat complex here, the Chief Minister also read out the English and Malayalam statements by Rajeev Chandrasekhar posted on his X handle.

“Dirty shameless appeasement politics by a discredited CM (and HM) @pinarayivijayan besieged by corruption charges.”

Sitting in Delhi and protesting against Israel, when in Kerala open calls by Terrorist Hamas for Jihad is causing attacks and bomb blasts on innocent Christians,” the minister posted on social media earlier in the day after the reports about the multiple blasts came out.

Pinarayi Vijayan alleged the statements were the reflection of an absolute communal outlook.

Indirectly attacking other BJP leaders who also responded on similar lines, he said those who were with the minister also came out with similar statements.

“A person who holds the post of minister should have shown at least some respect to the investigating agencies. Though the Kerala police is probing the incident now, we all saw reports that central agencies have also reached the site,” the Chief Minister said.

He further said they have taken a stand targeting a particular group, and it was part of their communal stand, but Kerala has never been on that agenda.

Noting that such statements should be viewed with seriousness, Pinarayi Vijayan also urged people not to fall for such campaigns.

He also warned stringent action against those who unleashed venomous campaigns through social media platforms with regard to the incident.

The Chief Minister also assured that whoever be the accused, they would be brought before the law to ensure maximum punishment.

Meanwhile, a 21-member special investigation team (SIT) of the Kerala Police, headed by ADGP Ajith Kumar, has been constituted to probe the case.

Two women died and 51 others were injured, some seriously, in multiple blasts at a Christian religious gathering in a convention centre near this port city on Sunday morning, sending shockwaves across Kerala.

The blasts took place at an international convention centre in Kalamassery, where hundreds of followers of the minority Christian group Jehovah’s Witnesses had assembled on the concluding day of a three-day-long prayer meeting.

A few hours after the incident, a man claiming to be a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses, surrendered before police in Thrissur district of the state, saying that he carried out the multiple blasts.

Police has registered an FIR against unknown persons under Sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC as well as provisions of the Explosives Act and the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

BJP leader and Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the period of the India-China war in 1962 will forever be etched as a dark and humiliating chapter in the history of independent India.

“That was the time when thousands of Indians and numerous members of our armed forces paid with their lives for the delusional ‘Hindi-Chini bhai bhai‘ policy followed by the then political leadership of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru and his Leftist Defence Minister, Krishna Menon,” he posted on X.

The war had taken place between October 20 and November 21, with China capturing a large tract of Indian land in Ladakh.

October 20 to November 21, 1962, will forever be etched as a dark and humiliating chapter in the history of Independent India.

That was the time when thousands of Indians and numerous members of our armed forces paid with their lives for the delusional ‘Hindi-Chini bhai bhai’… pic.twitter.com/nHRK4w5C8y

— Rajeev Chandrasekhar (@Rajeev_GoI) October 25, 2023

Hitting out at the then Congress leadership, Mr Chandrasekhar said India bore the cost of this “weak and delusional leadership”, and our proud country endured global humiliation.

“It caused unforgivable damage to the morale of our armed forces, who, despite being ill-equipped, fought valiantly until the last bullet and even with bayonets and bare hands, causing heavy casualties to the enemies. Many heroes fought to protect India and sacrificed their lives,” he said.

“We will always ‘remember and never forget’ the devastating impact of weak leadership, which led to the sacrifices of our bravehearts and also resulted in India around 38,000 square kilometres of its land,” he added.

In the days to come, he said he would refresh people’s memories about the “cost that nations bear as a result of weak leaders”.

Never again shall India be put through this under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘New India’, he said.

The son of an Indian Air Force officer, Mr Chandrasekhar often comments on issues related to Indian military history and related matters.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar today weighed in on the alleged “cash for questions” controversy involving Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, citing  a question she asked about reports of a government ban on 54 apps.

“I hv learnt from news reports that this Parliamentary Question  was likely asked by a MP at the behest of a Data center company. If true this is indeed shocking and shameful,” he posted on X, formerly Twitter.

“It is true that this company  was actively and aggressively lobbying for Data Localization. Language used in PQ is very similar (linking need for data localization to data breaches) to that used whn the head of this company met me. I am not aware or privy to the full facts or background on this – but if it is true then its a terrible travesty and misuse of PQs,” his post read.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Entities may be given about a year to tune their systems to comply with norms of Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on September 20.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of consultation with the industry, Mr. Chandrasekhar said the Data Protection Board and guidelines for the eight rules, including consent management, will be put in place within a month.

Explained | What is the Data Protection Bill of 2023?

“Industry wants some more time for age-gating, different timelines for transition for different data fiduciaries. We expect transition for most of the rules except age-gating will happen in 12 months from now,” the Minister said.

The consultation was attended by about 125 people representing various companies, including Meta, Lenovo, Dell, Netflix, among others.

The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, which comes after six years of the Supreme Court declaring ‘Right to Privacy’ as a fundamental right, has provisions to curb the misuse of individuals’ data by online platforms.

The Act seeks to protect the privacy of Indian citizens while proposing a penalty of up to ₹250 crore on entities for misusing or failing to protect the digital data of individuals.

The Act mandates that the data collected by citizens should be used as per law, only for the purpose for which it has been collected, and the quantum of data should be limited to the requirement.

In case of any grievances, individuals will be able to approach the Data Protection Board which will process the complaint as per the norms of the Act.

“We will start putting in place most of the rules for compliance in the next 5-6 days. Most of the rules will be placed within 30 days. The Data Protection Board will also be in place in 30 days,” Mr. Chandrasekhar said.