EC Accused of Blocking Probe into Vote Deletion Scam; Rahul Gandhi Says Poll Body is Protecting ‘Vote Thieves’

New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) is facing serious allegations of obstructing a criminal investigation into the attempted illegal deletion of thousands of votes in Karnataka. Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, on Thursday accused the ECI of protecting “vote chors” (vote thieves) by refusing to share vital information with the state’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

The controversy centers around an attempt to unlawfully remove approximately 6,000 voters from the electoral rolls in the Aland Assembly constituency ahead of the 2023 state elections.

In a public statement, Rahul Gandhi slammed Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, claiming the poll body was deliberately stonewalling the probe.

The Election Commission responded by calling Mr. Gandhi’s allegations “incorrect and baseless.” The ECI claimed that “no deletion of any vote can be done online by any member of the public” and stated that it had filed an FIR itself in 2023 to investigate the “unsuccessful attempts.”

However, the ECI’s statement did not address the central charge: why it has failed to provide complete technical data to the Karnataka CID for over 18 months, despite repeated requests.

To back up their claims, the Congress party, through its General Secretary Jairam Ramesh, released copies of several official letters. These documents show that both the Karnataka CID and the state’s own Chief Electoral Officer have repeatedly asked the central ECI office in Delhi for key information, including destination IP addresses and OTP details of those who tried to delete the votes.

“Why is the ECI in Delhi blocking the investigation by refusing to release data to the police for 18 months?” Mr. Ramesh asked. “This is clear proof that the ECI is blocking the investigation so that Vote Chors are protected.”

The letters reveal that the Karnataka CEO wrote to the ECI at least six times, while top police officials in the state also sent multiple reminders seeking the data needed to trace the culprits. The investigation has been stalled since March 2023 due to the missing information.

The ECI also pointed out that a Congress candidate, BR Patil, won the Aland seat in 2023. However, the Congress party maintains that the outcome of the election does not change the seriousness of the crime or excuse the ECI’s alleged role in hindering the investigation.