Rahul Gandhi accuses ECI of ‘shielding vote chors’; poll panel calls claim ‘baseless’

Guwahati, Sept 18: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Thursday, launched a scathing attack on Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him of shielding “vote chors” and undermining Indian democracy.

Citing data from Karnataka’s Aland constituency and Maharashtra’s Rajura seat, Gandhi alleged that Congress votes were being systematically deleted or manipulated ahead of elections through fraudulent software-driven operations.

“These are not casual remarks. I am saying this with 100 per cent proof. he CEC is protecting vote chors and the people who have destroyed Indian democracy,” Gandhi said at a press conference at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi.

He claimed that in Karnataka’s Aland constituency during 2023, 6,018 applications for voter deletions were filed using impersonated identities and mobile numbers from outside the state.

Gandhi highlighted the case of a booth-level officer who discovered her uncle’s vote was deleted without his knowledge, allegedly through an automated process.

“As luck would have it, the fraud was caught because the officer recognised her uncle’s name,” Gandhi said, adding that such manipulations are being done through software-driven systems.

The Congress leader further alleged that millions of voters across India were being targeted for deletion, calling it “a systematic attack on democracy.”

To underline his claims, Gandhi invited on stage a voter whose name had been attempted to be deleted and another whose identity was allegedly misused in the process—both of whom denied involvement.

Gandhi also accused the Election Commission of not cooperating with the Karnataka CID’s investigation into voter deletions.

“The CID has sent 18 letters over 18 months asking for simple information like destination IP addresses and OTP trails, but the EC has refused. If this information comes out, it will show exactly where this operation is being conducted,” he alleged.

He reiterated that his revelations were a “milestone” but not the “hydrogen bomb” of disclosures he had earlier promised, which he said would be released soon.

However, the Election Commission strongly refuted Gandhi’s allegations, terming them “incorrect and baseless”.

In a statement also issued ion Thursday, the EC clarified that “no deletion of any vote can be done online by any member of the public, as misconceived by Gandhi.”

The poll panel further stressed that “no deletion can take place without giving an opportunity of being heard to the affected person.”

Dismissing Gandhi’s charges that the CEC is "protecting" wrongdoers, the Commission maintained that all due procedures are followed in electoral roll management and voter deletions cannot be carried out arbitrarily.

Gandhi, however, insisted that the issue struck at the heart of India’s democracy. “I want every youngster in India to know this. They are doing this to your future. By not giving this information, the EC is defending the murderers of democracy,” he said.

PTI