CEC Gyanesh Kumar protecting 'vote chors', destroyers of democracy: Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi: After his "vote theft" charges, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of protecting those who indulged in "vote chori" and "destroyed democracy" while citing data from a Karnataka assembly constituency to claim that votes of Congress voters were being systematically deleted in a targeted manner.

The Election Commission, however, dubbed the charges as "incorrect and baseless" and asserted that no deletion of votes can happen without giving an opportunity of being heard to the affected person.

The BJP said Gandhi's repeated charges against constitutional institutions showed his and the Congress' lack of faith in Indian democracy.

Mounting another frontal attack against the Election Commission, Gandhi said the poll panel must stop protecting "vote chors" and provide within a week information sought by the Karnataka CID in an investigation into voter deletions.

If not, it will be known for sure that it is complicit in the "murder of the Constitution", Gandhi alleged at a press conference at the Congress' Indira Bhawan headquarters here.

He also alleged that constitutional institutions are not doing their job properly and said the institutions within the country including the legal framework should step in.

Gandhi also made it clear at the outset that the revelations were not the "hydrogen bomb" that he had promised and he will soon reveal those details.

"I am going to make a serious claim about Gyanesh Kumar. I am not saying this lightly, I am the leader of the opposition. The CEC is protecting 'vote chors' and the people who have destroyed Indian democracy," Gandhi alleged.

"I am just creating the foundation. This has been going on for 10-15 years. India's democracy has been hijacked. Democracy can only be saved by the people of India. Rahul Gandhi can show the truth. The day the people realise that their democracy and Constitution have been stolen, the job will be done," he said.

The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha cited details of alleged attempts to delete 6,018 votes in Karnataka's Aland constituency in the run up to 2023 assembly polls. He also gave the example of Maharashtra's Rajura constituency where he claimed 6,850 voters were added in a "fraudulent" manner using automated software.

"Same system is doing this. It is doing it in Karnataka, Maharashtra, it has done it in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and we have proof of it," the Congress leader alleged.

"Our demand is Gyanesh Kumar, do your job, you have taken an oath, you are India's chief election commissioner, you must give evidence to the Karnataka CID," Gandhi said asking the EC to provide the details within a week.

Talking about the Aland example, Gandhi said there were targeted deletions in strong Congress booths.

"The top 10 booths with maximum deletions were Congress strongholds. Congress won eight out of the 10 booths in 2018. This was not a coincidence; this was a planned operation," he alleged.

He said his revelations today are another milestone in demonstrating to the youth of the country how elections in the country are being "rigged".

Someone has been systematically targeting millions of voters for deletion across India, Gandhi claimed, adding that some group of people have been systematically targeting millions of voters especially minorities and Dalits for deletion.

"I am the leader of the opposition and I will not say anything which is not backed by 100 per cent proof...I am someone who loves my country, I love my Constitution, I love the democratic process and I am protecting that process." He said in the Aland segment, someone tried to delete 6,018 votes and got caught "by coincidence", alleging that names of Congress voters were being deleted systematically.

"The booth-level officer noticed that her uncle's vote got deleted and found her neighbour had deleted the vote of her uncle. She asked her neighbour who said he had no idea. It was found that some other force hijacked the process and deleted the vote -- and as luck would have it got caught," Gandhi said.

He claimed that 6,018 applications were filed impersonating voters and this filing was done automatically using mobile numbers from outside Karnataka.

Gandhi also called on stage a voter whose vote was sought to be deleted and the person whose name was used to get the deletion done, with both denying any knowledge of it.

According to the Congress leader, the deletions were being done using software and not through individuals, as the process of filling the form was done within seconds and was done in the wee hours of the day.

Noting that there is an ongoing investigation in Karnataka, Gandhi said the CID has sent 18 letters in 18 months to the Election Commission and asked for some simple facts such as the destination IP from where these applications were filled and OTP trails.

They are not giving it because it will lead us to where this operation is being conducted, Gandhi claimed, while accusing Gyanesh Kumar of protecting those who are indulging in such acts.

"EC knows who is doing this. I want every youngster in India to know this. They are doing this to your future. When they are not giving this information, they are defending the murderers of democracy," Gandhi said.

The Congress leader said it will take two-three months for the research and presentations on alleged "vote chori" that his party has been carrying out.

"When we are done with these presentations, you will have no doubt in your mind that state after state (elections) and Lok Sabha after Lok Sabha are being stolen. My job is to lay bare the truth and show it to the people of the country," Gandhi said.

"This Constitution is the protector of the people and I am protecting this. The job of protecting it is of the institutions, but they are not doing it," he said.

Gandhi also claimed that the party is also getting information and help from inside the Election Commission.

"This will not stop. The people of India will not accept this. When youngsters get to know that the 'vote chori' is being done, their strength will also join in," he added.

Asked who is the mastermind, Gandhi said he will also lay that before the people and his "hydrogen bomb" of revelations will put everything out in black and white.

Gandhi last month cited data from the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, claiming that over one lakh votes were "stolen through manipulation" in Mahadevapura assembly constituency in Karnataka, and asserted that "vote chori" is like an "atom bomb on our democracy".