New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (EC) on Thursday, September 18, dismissed serious allegations made by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, calling his accusations against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar “incorrect and baseless”.
Sources within the Commission responded hours after Gandhi accused the CEC of shielding those involved in large-scale voter deletions, a claim he described as a "murder of Indian democracy", according to a report by Hindustan Times.
EC Says No Online Deletion Possible
As per the report, in a strongly worded response, EC sources denied the possibility of online voter deletions by the public. “No deletion of any vote can be done online by any member of the public, as misconceived by Shri Rahul Gandhi,” said officials.
They further clarified that every deletion must follow due process, including notice and the opportunity to be heard. “No deletion can take place without giving an opportunity of being heard to the affected person,” the EC added.
EC Admits Fraud Attempt in Aland Admitted
Addressing the example cited by Gandhi, the Aland constituency in Karnataka, EC sources acknowledged there had been attempts to fraudulently delete votes in 2023, as per the report. However, they insisted that the deletions were unsuccessful and that the Commission had itself filed an FIR to trigger a police investigation.
The EC also defended the fairness of the electoral process in the region, noting that BJP’s Subhadh Guttedar had won in 2018 while Congress’ BR Patil emerged victorious in 2023.
Gandhi’s Allegations on Software-Based Fraud
Earlier in the day, Gandhi had accused the poll body of allowing software-based, centralised voter deletions across the country. He alleged that the Karnataka CID had sent 18 letters to the EC over 18 months seeking technical information, including IP addresses and OTP logs, but received no cooperation.
“EC knows who is doing this. They are defending the murderers of democracy,” Gandhi said, repeating his warning of an upcoming “hydrogen bomb” of disclosures on alleged “vote chori”.
The Commission has not yet issued an official press release but said it stands by the electoral integrity of the process.
