Mumbai, June 16 : Amid raging controversy over Tesla and X boss Elon Musk's "EVM can be hacked" claim, Shiv Sena MP and former Union Minister Milind Deora on Sunday said Silicon Valley's bigtech billionaires should not meddle in India's democracy.

In a post on X, Milind Deora said: "I'm a fan of @elonmusk as an innovator, but not of Silicon Valley's #BigTech billionaires meddling in India's democracy. Still, I asked #ChatGPT -- co-founded & funded by Musk -- about EVMs.

He also added ChatGPT's take in this regard.

The 'conversation' reads like: "Do India's EVMs use a SIM card?" Replying to Deora's question, the chatbot answered: "No, India's Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) do not use SIM cards. They are standalone devices that are not connected to any network, making them immune to remote hacking. The design and function ability of EVMs ensure that they operate independently without the need for any external connectivity, which enhances their security and reliability in conducting elections."

Deora's observations on the matter came after opposition parties including Congress, Samajwadi Party, Shiv Sena UBT raised concerns over the reliability of EVMs.

/IANS