New Delhi,: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday reiterated his allegations of “vote theft” and launched a fresh attack on the Election Commission, calling it an “election watchman” that “stayed awake, watched the theft, and protected the thieves.”
His remarks came a day after he intensified his criticism, accusing Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of shielding those who “destroyed democracy.” To support his claim, Gandhi cited data from a Karnataka assembly constituency, alleging that votes of Congress supporters were being systematically deleted.
The Election Commission, however, dismissed the allegations as “incorrect and baseless,” stating, “No deletion of any vote can be done online by any member of the public, as misconceived by Gandhi.”
In a Hindi post on X on Friday, Gandhi wrote: “Wake up at 4 a.m., eliminate two voters in 36 seconds, then go back to sleep — this is how vote theft happens!” He added, “Chunaav ka chawkidaar jaagta raha, chori dekhta raha, choron ko bachata raha (The election watchman stayed awake, watched the theft, and protected the thieves).”
Gandhi also shared a 36-second video from his press conference illustrating the alleged “vote theft” process.
On Thursday evening, he had said: “The nation’s youth, students, and Gen Z will defend the Constitution, protect democracy, and stop vote theft. I always stand with them. Jai Hind!”
Continuing his offensive, Gandhi demanded that the Election Commission stop protecting “vote chors” and provide the Karnataka CID, within a week, with the information sought in its investigation into voter deletions. He warned that failure to comply would reveal the poll body’s complicity in the “murder of the Constitution,” he said at a press conference at the Congress’ Indira Bhawan headquarters.
Gandhi stressed that these revelations were not the “hydrogen bomb” disclosures he had promised, which he said would come soon.
He cited specific instances, including alleged attempts to delete 6,018 votes in Karnataka’s Aland constituency before the 2023 assembly elections, and claimed 6,850 voters were added fraudulently in Maharashtra’s Rajura constituency using automated software.
“The same system is at work. It’s happening in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar — and we have proof,” Gandhi asserted.
He directly called on CEC Gyanesh Kumar, saying: “Do your job. You have taken an oath as India’s chief election commissioner; you must provide evidence to the Karnataka CID. Stop giving excuses and release the evidence immediately.”
