Rahul Gandhi alleges CEC Gyanesh Kumar of protecting ‘Vote Chors’

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday slammed Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him of shielding those responsible for “murdering Indian democracy” by not disclosing details of mass voter deletions across several states.Speaking at a press conference in New Delhi, Gandhi alleged that voter deletions had been carried out in a systematic, software-driven manner in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh — particularly in constituencies considered Congress strongholds. He accused the poll panel of turning a blind eye despite repeated queries from investigating agencies.“Gyanesh Kumar ji, do your job. You have taken an oath. Stop protecting those murdering democracy and give the details to the Karnataka CID,” Gandhi said, issuing a one-week deadline for the ECI to release data.
The Congress leader cited the example of Karnataka’s Aland constituency, where 6,018 votes were allegedly deleted during the 2023 elections using mobile numbers from outside the state. Gandhi displayed some of the numbers at the press conference, claiming they were used without voters’ consent.He introduced 63-year-old voter Godabai, whose name was deleted without her knowledge. A video of her denying any role in the deletion application was shown as evidence. “These applications were impersonated. Neither the voters nor those accused of filing them had any knowledge. This was done centrally using software,” Gandhi alleged.
Gandhi further claimed that the Karnataka Crime Investigation Department (CID) had written 18 letters over the past 18 months seeking IP addresses, OTP trails, and device details related to the deletions, but the Election Commission never responded.“The reason the ECI is not sharing these details is because they will reveal where this centralised operation is taking place. The Election Commission knows who is doing it but is not telling,” Gandhi charged.

VIDEO | “Let’s come to why I'm making such a direct accusation about Gyanesh Kumar. It is because Karnataka CID started investigation seeking details from EC on deletions done, but EC not providing details”, says Congress MP Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) alleging vote theft.… pic.twitter.com/EusDrtUQgN

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 18, 2025

Urging young Indians to take note, Gandhi accused the poll body of “defending murderers of democracy.” He demanded that the ECI release all data related to voter deletions, including deletion forms and OTP records, within a week.“The question is not whether deletions are happening — we know they are. The question is, who is doing it? The Election Commission must answer,” he said.