Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday launched yet another scathing attack on the Election Commission of India, accusing Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar of "protecting vote thieves."
Addressing a special press conference at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi, the former Congress chief presented what he described as proof to substantiate allegations of mass vote deletion in a constituency in Karnataka.
"I'm going to show black and white proof that the Chief Election Commissioner of India is protecting the people who have destroyed Indian democracy. I'm also going to show you how it is done," he said.
Gandhi said that he was making the statements fully aware of his responsibility as the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
The Congress leader also said that he has been getting help from within the Election Commission.
"We have started getting help from inside the Election Commission. I am making it clear that we are now getting information from inside the Election Commission, and this is not going to stop," he said.
Gandhi alleged that over the years, in different elections, "some forces" have been systematically targeting millions of voters across India with the deletion of votes. He alleged that the votes of communities, including Dalits, minorities, OBCs and Adivasis who were voting for the opposition, were specifically targeted.
Key allegations raised by Rahul Gandhi:
1. Massive vote deletion in Karnataka constituency
Rahul Gandhi alleged that in the Aland constituency of Karnataka, a stronghold of the Congress, over 6000 votes were deleted using the names of different voters, who were unaware of the exercise.
"Somebody tried to delete 6018 votes. We don't know the total number of votes that were deleted in Aland in the 2023 election. They are much higher than 6,018, but somebody got caught deleting those 6018 votes, and it was caught by coincidence," Gandhi said.
"What happened was that the booth-level officer there noted that her uncle's vote was deleted, so she checked who deleted her uncle's vote, and she found that it was a neighbour who deleted the vote. She asked her neighbour, but they said I did not delete any votes. Neither the person deleting the vote nor the person whose vote was deleted knew. Some other force hijacked the process and deleted the vote," he said.
Gandhi also presented one of the voters whose name was used by the alleged perpetrator to submit an application to delete the votes. Voters whose names were deleted from the voters list were also present.
The Congress leader further alleged that similar irregularities were found in several other states, including Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Haryana.
"In Rajura, Maharashtra, 6815 targeted voters were added. In Aland, we caught delitions, in Rajura, we got additions, but the basic idea is the same... It's the same system that is doing this. It's doing it in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Haryana, UP, and we have proof of all that," he said.
2. Congress voters targeted, centralised system used
Rahul Gandhi alleged that the vote deletion happened targeting Congress voters in the constituency and that a sophisticated centralised system was used for the process.
Gandhi claimed that the applications for the deletion of voters were filed "automatically using a software."
"Mobile numbers from outside Karnataka, from different states, were used to delete numbers in Aland, and it was done targeting Congress voters," he said.
The Opposition leader pointed out similarities in the serial numbers of the applicants and claimed that a centralised system was used to file the applications.
"Look at the serial numbers... A software is picking up the first name in the booth and using it to delete votes. Someone ran an automated program to ensure that the first voter at the booth was the applicant. That same person got cell phones from outside the state, used them to file the application, and we are pretty certain that this was done in a centralised manner and it was done at scale. This was not done at a worker level; this was done at a whole simpler level," he alleged.
3. Black and white evidence against CEC Gyanesh Kumar
Training his guns on the Election Commission, Gandhi alleged that CEC Gyanesh Kumar was directly complicit in the vote deletion as he has refused to provide crucial data and take any action despite repeated appeals from Karnataka CID.
"Let's come to why I'm making such a direct accusation about Gyanesh Kumar. There is an ongoing investigation into this matter in Karnataka. The CID of Karnataka has sent 18 letters in 18 months to the Election Commission, and they have asked the Election Commission for some very simple facts. Number one, give us the destination IP from where these forms were filled. Number two, give us the device destination ports from where these applications were filed. And number three, most importantly, give us the OTP trails because when you file, you have to get OTP," Gandhi said.
"18 times in 18 months, the CID of Karnataka has written to the Election Commission for this, and they are not giving it. Why are they not giving it? Because this will lead us to where the operation is being done, and we are absolutely convinced where this is going to go," he said.
"FIR is filed on February 23. Karnataka CID writes to ECI requesting all details of these numbers and these transactions almost immediately in March. In August, EC gives a reply, doesn't fulfil any of the demands and doesn't give us the information. It doesn't provide the CID of Karnataka with the information that will lead them to their destination. January 24th, Karnataka CID writes to ECI again and says please send us full information. No answer. Karnataka CID, by September 25, has written 18 reminder letters," Gandhi claimed.
"While this is going on, the CEC of Karnataka writes to the Election Commission in Delhi and says there is a matter, please provide this information and the CEC of Karnataka multiple times asks the Election Commission. Now this is absolute solid proof that Gyanesh Kumar is protecting the people who are doing this. This is also absolute solid proof that this is being done in a centralised way, this is being done at scale and this is being done using large resources," he alleged.
Calling on the EC to provide the data regarding the alleged vote deletion, Gandhi said, "The Chief Election Commissioner of India, Gyanesh Kumar, needs to stop protecting the people who are destroying Indian democracy. We have given you 100% bulletproof proof here. EC has to release this data of these phones, these OTPs, within a week."
