Daijiworld Media Network- New Delhi

New Delhi, Sep 18: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday launched a scathing attack on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him of protecting a “centralised criminal operation” that allegedly sought to manipulate elections by deleting voters’ names in bulk.

Speaking at a press conference, Gandhi cited a Karnataka CID investigation which, he claimed, had already resulted in an FIR. He said the agency had requested critical technical details from the Election Commission—such as destination IP addresses, device ports, and OTP trails—18 times over 18 months, but the poll body had failed to comply. “Why are they not providing this information? Because it would reveal the source of the operation,” Gandhi alleged.

The Congress leader described the deletions as a systematic targeting of Dalits, adivasis, minorities, and OBCs, asserting that the process was hijacked across multiple states to reduce opposition votes.

Citing the 2023 Aland Assembly election in Karnataka, Gandhi said 6,018 deletion applications were filed using impersonation and automated systems. The scheme came to light only because a booth-level officer noticed her uncle’s name missing and discovered that a neighbour listed as the applicant had no knowledge of the deletion. “Neither the person alleged to have deleted the vote knew, nor the voter whose name was removed. Some other force hijacked the process,” Gandhi said.

He presented examples to illustrate the alleged modus operandi:

• A fake login was allegedly created in the name of 63-year-old Godabai to delete 12 voters. The attempt was stopped in time, but mobile numbers from outside Karnataka were used.
• Suryakaant discovered that 12 deletions were filed in his name within 14 minutes, while Babita’s name was allegedly deleted using his identity.

• Naagraj had two deletion applications filed in just 36 seconds at 4 a.m.

Gandhi claimed the deletions were concentrated in Congress strongholds, with the top 10 booths showing the maximum deletions—all areas the party had won in 2018. “This was not a coincidence, it was a planned operation,” he said.

He alleged that the deletions were carried out not by individuals but through specialised software that systematically picked names from voter rolls for mass impersonation. “This is black-and-white, undeniable proof. The Chief Election Commissioner is shielding vote chors,” Gandhi asserted.