Rahul Gandhi accuses CEC Gyanesh Kumar of shielding 'vote chors'; EC calls claims baseless
PTC Web Desk: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday strongly rejected allegations made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi that Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar was protecting “vote chors” and aiding forces undermining Indian democracy.
In a sharp statement, the poll body said, “Allegations made by Rahul Gandhi are incorrect and baseless. No deletion of any vote can be done online by any member of the public, as misconceived by Rahul Gandhi. No deletion can take place without giving an opportunity of being heard to the affected person.”
Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on CEC Gyanesh Kumar during a press briefing, accusing him of siding with those allegedly involved in vote theft. The Congress leader claimed he had “black and white proof” that the EC was protecting those who “destroyed Indian democracy.” He alleged that votes of Congress supporters were being systematically deleted ahead of elections through fraudulent use of automated software.
Citing incidents from Karnataka and Maharashtra, Rahul Gandhi claimed that in Karnataka’s Aland constituency in 2023, over 6,000 votes were targeted for deletion using impersonation. “The booth-level officer noticed her uncle’s vote had been deleted and traced it to her neighbour’s name, who himself had no knowledge of it. It was later found that external forces hijacked the process,” Gandhi alleged. He further said that in Maharashtra’s Rajura constituency, voter additions were done in a fraudulent manner.
Rahul Gandhi also pointed to an ongoing CID investigation in Karnataka, where officials had reportedly written 18 letters in 18 months to the EC seeking details such as IP addresses and OTP trails related to voter deletions. “They are not giving it because it will lead us to where this operation is being conducted,” he claimed.
The Election Commission, however, has firmly dismissed all allegations, reiterating that the electoral process has safeguards against arbitrary deletions.
- With inputs from agencies
