NEW DELHI: The Congress-led government in Karnataka announced the establishment of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Saturday to investigate alleged “vote deletions” in the Aland assembly segment. This action follows accusations from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who charged Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar with safeguarding “vote thieves” and undermining democracy.
During a press conference where data from Aland was displayed, Gandhi claimed that votes belonging to Congress supporters were systematically erased in the lead-up to elections. He stated, “I am going to show the youth, the people, proof that is black and white, absolutely clear that the Chief Election Commissioner of India is protecting people who have destroyed Indian democracy. I will also show you the methods by which votes are added, deleted, and how it is done.”
Gandhi alleged a coordinated effort using software to impersonate legitimate voters, resulting in the deletion of names from voter rolls. He referenced a specific instance in Aland where 6,018 votes were attempted to be removed. According to him, the issue was uncovered by a Booth Level Officer, who noticed her uncle’s vote was deleted and, upon investigation, found that her neighbor was implicated, albeit unknowingly. “Some other force hijacked the process and deleted the vote. As luck would have it, it got caught,” Gandhi remarked.
In response, the Election Commission issued a rebuttal to Gandhi’s claims, asserting that “no deletion of votes can be done online by any member of the public.” They clarified that no name is removed from the electoral roll without notifying the affected individual.
The Commission further detailed that while electors can submit Form 7 online to request the deletion of entries from voter lists, this does not automatically lead to deletion. The rules mandate that no name can be erased without sending a notice to the concerned person, thereby allowing them an opportunity for representation.
Prior to the assembly elections in Aland, 6,018 applications for deletion were submitted online, though only 24 were verified as legitimate; 5,994 were rejected as incorrect. The Election Commission registered a First Information Report (FIR) regarding suspicious deletion attempts, signaling an inquiry into the matter.
