Voter deletion 'fraud': What 'undeniable proof' has Rahul Gandhi presented against CEC Gyanesh Kumar?

"In election after election, someone...some force, some group of people has been systematically targeting millions of voters for deletion across India. This is something we have heard again and again. Different communities, mainly communities that are voting for the Opposition - Dalits, Adivasis, minorities, OBCs are specifically targeted. We had heard this ,many times. Now we have found 100 per cent proof of it," Rahul said.

The Congress leader further stated that he would not say anything "that is not backed up by 100 per cent proof".

"I am somebody who loves my country, loves my Constitution, loves our democratic institutions and I am protecting that process."

Mass deletion of voters in Aland

Rahul then went on to present the case of Aland Assembly constituency in Karnataka and alleged that "someone tried to delete 6,018 votes" in the constituency, but "was caught". Rahul said that applications for the deletion of these 6,018 voters were filed, impersonating voters.

"The people who allegedly filed these applications never actually filed them," Rahul said, further alleging that the filing was done automatically using a software.

"Mobile numbers from outside Karnataka, from different states were used to delete votes in Aland, specifically targeting Congress voters. This wasn't random...these deletions specifically targeted booths where the Congress party was winning," he said.

Rahul said that four specific questions arose from the findings. "Whose (mobile) numbers are these? How were they operated? Where were they operated from? Who generated the OTPs to disturb the process?"

Claiming that the mass deletions were attempted not by individuals but through the use of software. "Look at the serial numbers: serial number 1 means that this is the first name in the booth. So a software is picking up the first name in the booth and using it to delete voters.

"So someone ran an automated program that ensured the first voter of the booth was the applicant. That same person got cellphones from outside the state and used them to file their applications. 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 call centre level," Rahul further claimed.

The accusation against the CEC

After detailing the accusations of mass voter deletions and also demonstrating how the exercise was being fraudulently carried out, Rahul came to the point of his accusation against CEC Gyanesh Kumar.

In what he claimed was "undeniable proof" of the CEC protecting the people "who destroyed democracy", Rahul alleged that the poll panel did not convincingly respond to the requests by the Karnataka CID for certain details that he claimed would have helped authorities identify the culprits who tried to fraudulently delete "Congress voters".   

Rahul said that as part of an ongoing investigation in the matter of suspicious voter deletions in the Aland constituency in Karnataka, the state CID has sent 18 letters in 18 months to the Election Commission, asking it to provide some crucial information.

The information sought by the Karnataka CID included the destination IP from where these forms were filled, device destination ports from where these applications were filed and the OTP trails.

"The CID of Karnataka has written to the Election Commission 18 times in 18 months, but 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 lead," Rahul said.

Providing a detailed chronology of the events, Rahul informed that an FIR was filed in the matter on February 23 and the CID wrote to the ECI requesting all details of these numbers and these transactions in March.

Rahul claimed that the EC replied to the CID's request in August, but didn't fulfil any of the demands. "It also doesn't give the CID of Karnataka the information that will lead them to their destination."

"On January 24, the Karnataka CID writes to the EC again and asks for full information. But it gets no answer from EC. Karnataka CID, by September 25, has written 18 reminder letters," Rahul said, adding that the Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka also wrote to the Election Commission in Delhi on the matter but received no answer.

"Now this is absolute solid proof that Gyanesh Kumar is protecting the people who are doing this. This is also absolute solid proof that I've shown you that this is being done in a centralized way, this is being done at scale, and this is being done using large resources," Rahul alleged.

Rahul said that the Election Commission of India knows who's doing this but was deliberately withholding the information to protect the culprits. "I want every youngster in India to know that they're attacking your future. When they're withholding this information, they're defending the murderers of our democracy," he said, adding that he had proof of the same modus operandi being deployed in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

EC denies allegations

The Election Commission of India responded to the charges levelled by Rahul and termed them "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. In 2023, certain unsuccessful attempts were made for the deletion of electors in the Aland Assembly Constituency and an FIR was filed by the authority of ECI itself to investigate the matter," a statement issued by the Election Commission said.