Rahul Gandhi Accuses Election Commission of Voter Manipulations
On Thursday, Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha and Member of Parliament for Rae Bareli, launched another critique of the Election Commission of India (ECI). He accused the commission of engaging in “criminality” concerning the addition and deletion of voters from electoral rolls.
During a press conference, Gandhi specifically targeted the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that the ECI is protecting individuals who “murder democracy” by failing to provide requested details about voter deletions to the Karnataka Crime Investigation Department (CID).
“Gyanesh Kumarji knows who is doing this in an organized and systematic manner,” Gandhi stated, giving the ECI one week to respond to his allegations.
In a prior press conference on August 7, Gandhi cited data from a Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka related to the upcoming 2024 general elections. He alleged that the ECI was colluding with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to “steal elections,” describing such actions as a “crime” against the Constitution. This sparked a political controversy, leading to counterattacks from both the BJP and the ECI against Gandhi.
Amid these events, the Congress party rolled out a campaign titled “vote chori” (vote theft), with Gandhi spearheading a “Voter Adhikar rally” in poll-bound Bihar.
Outlining his accusations, Gandhi provided a series of specific claims:
- He alleged that CEC Gyanesh Kumar is “protecting” those undermining Indian democracy. According to Gandhi, certain groups are systematically targeting millions of voters for deletion, particularly from minority and Dalit communities.
- Gandhi emphasized his commitment to truthfulness, stating, “I am not going to say anything on this stage that is not backed up by 100 per cent truth.”
- He highlighted a case from Aland in Karnataka where 6,018 votes were allegedly targeted for deletion. Gandhi noted that this figure might significantly underestimate the actual number of votes deleted during the 2023 election, as the process involved had been caught accidentally.
- He claimed that applications to delete these votes were filed impersonating other voters, utilizing software to automate the process and employing mobile numbers from outside Karnataka.
- Gandhi detailed a “call center” style operation where votes were added and deleted centrally rather than through individual actions.
- He pointed out ongoing investigations by the Karnataka CID, which has sent 18 letters to the ECI over 18 months seeking information, including destination IP addresses and device data related to voter application submissions.
- He described how an automated program was allegedly used to delete votes based on the sequential order of voters at polling booths, which indicated a larger, coordinated effort rather than isolated incidents.
- Gandhi raised concerns about who is behind this organized effort, asserting that CEC Gyanesh Kumar is aware of the individuals involved.
- He called on Gyanesh Kumar to provide proof of these voter additions and deletions to the Karnataka CID.
- Finally, Gandhi claimed that they have started receiving assistance from within the ECI, indicating that they will continue to pursue this matter.
The situation continues to unfold, with potential implications for the electoral landscape as the 2024 general elections approach.
