Opposition leaders and critics in India have repeatedly alleged that the country’s electoral rolls are being systematically manipulated. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has denied all charges.
In his latest criticism, Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, 55, accused the ECI of withholding key data that could help identify those responsible for tampering with electoral rolls. He specifically accused ECI chief Gyanesh Kumar of “protecting the people who are destroying and attacking the constitution.”
The ECI called the accusations “incorrect” and “baseless,” stating that it had itself filed a police complaint against “certain unsuccessful attempts” to delete voters from the rolls.
On Thursday, Gandhi unveiled what he called “100 percent proof” of an attempt to delete thousands of voters in Karnataka state using automated software. He claimed that the ECI had refused to share technical data sought by investigators examining an alleged operation targeting areas leaning towards the Congress party. He alleged that the Karnataka Criminal Investigation Department has asked the ECI “18 times in 18 months” for the data, but they have not provided it.
These allegations come ahead of elections expected in October or November in Bihar, India’s third-most populous state with at least 130 million people. The opposition alleged that the ECI has embarked on a “mass disenfranchisement” exercise, after it gave voters in the state just weeks to prove their citizenship in a registration revamp, requiring documents that few people possess.
