‘Chunaav ka Chawkidaar Protected Vote Chors’: Rahul Gandhi’s Dig At Election Commission

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday reiterated his allegations of “vote theft” and criticised the Election Commission, describing it as an “election watchman” that “stayed awake, watched the theft, and protected the thieves”.

According to PTI, Gandhi made these remarks a day after intensifying his attack on the poll panel and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar for allegedly protecting those “who destroyed democracy”.

Gandhi cited data from a Karnataka assembly constituency to support his claim that votes of Congress supporters were being systematically deleted. In a post on X in Hindi on Friday, he wrote, “Wake up at 4 a.m. Eliminate two voters in 36 seconds, then go back to sleep – this is how vote theft happens! Chunaav ka chawkidaar jaagta raha, chori dekhta raha, choron ko bachata raha.”

The Election Commission dismissed the allegations, calling them “incorrect and baseless”, and clarified that “no deletion of any vote can be done online by any member of the public, as misconceived by Gandhi,” PTI reported.

Gandhi also shared a 36-second video from his press conference explaining what he described as the modus operandi of the alleged vote manipulation. On Thursday evening, he had appealed to India’s youth, students, and Gen Z to defend the Constitution and protect democracy, saying, “I always stand with them. Jai Hind!”

During his press conference at the Congress’ Indira Bhawan headquarters, Gandhi alleged that the Election Commission must stop shielding “vote chors” and provide information sought by the Karnataka CID in an ongoing investigation into voter deletions. He warned that failure to do so would demonstrate the poll body’s complicity in what he called the “murder of the Constitution”. Gandhi noted that his current disclosures were not the “hydrogen bomb” revelations he had previously promised.

He cited specific examples, including an alleged attempt to delete 6,018 votes in Karnataka’s Aland constituency ahead of the 2023 assembly elections and the addition of 6,850 voters in Maharashtra’s Rajura constituency using automated software. Gandhi claimed the same system had been used in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar, adding, “We have proof of it,” PTI reported.

He directly addressed CEC Gyanesh Kumar, demanding evidence be provided to the Karnataka CID and asking him to “stop giving excuses” and perform his duties as India’s chief election commissioner.

(With inputs from PTI)