Priyank Kharge accuses Election Commission of lying about vote theft information

Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Friday (September 19) accused the Election Commission of lying when it claimed to have shared all information regarding the alleged vote theft.

He pointed out that a letter sent by the Joint Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka on February 4 revealed otherwise.

Also Read: Rahul escalates 'vote chori' charge, calls EC a 'watchman shielding thieves'

'CID wrote 18 letters seeking details'

On Thursday (September 18), Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had alleged in a press conference that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was shielding “vote chors” (vote thieves).

Addressing reporters in Bengaluru, Priyank Kharge, son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, said the CID had written 18 letters seeking details, the latest on February 1, urging the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to direct officials to provide crucial information for investigation.

Reading from the CID’s letter, Kharge noted it stated, "During the course of investigation, the IP (internet protocol) logs are provided. On perusal of the destination, IP and the destination port are missing. Therefore, it is requested to direct the concerned to provide the same and also provide the information document related to below-mentioned queries."

Five queries

According to him, the CID raised five key queries, including whether OTP or multifactor authentication was used in the National Voters' Service Portal (NVSP) and Voter Helpline App (VHA), how OTP authentication functioned, and whether certificates under Section 65B of the Evidence Act were provided for IP logs.

They also sought a presentation on how NVSP, VHA, and Garuda apps functioned from a voter’s perspective.

Kharge added that the CEO’s office forwarded this letter to the Election Commission of India (ECI) on February 4.

In the letter to ECI, the Joint CEO said, "The investigating officer has requested to provide certain information ….. related to the submission of online application for deletion of names in the Aland Assembly Constituency. The investigating officer has also requested to provide certificate under 65B of the Indian Evidence Act by the person holding lawful control/user from where the logs were created during the activities generated to produce before the LEA," the letter said.

“Whom are you lying to? If you had already given all the information, why did you write this letter?” Kharge asked, stressing that the communication was internal between the ECI itself.

Also Read: EC should have ordered probe instead of 'shouting' at Rahul: Ex-CEC on 'vote chori' charges

Congress MLA flags deletions

Meanwhile, Congress MLA from Aland, BR Patil, recalled how in February 2023, he first learned about suspicious deletion requests when a villager informed him that his name was marked for removal. Soon after, thousands of similar complaints poured in, totalling 6,018 deletion requests.

Alarmed, Patil approached state election officials and lodged a formal complaint with the CEC through the Kalaburagi district administration on February 10, 2023.

Following this, he and Priyank Kharge met then-Karnataka CEO Manoj Kumar Meena, who acknowledged the irregularities and ordered a freeze on deletions.

Patil alleged that EPIC numbers of voters were fraudulently used to file deletion requests without their knowledge. Calling it a “forgery” aimed at defeating him, he blamed the BJP and the Election Commission, saying it was impossible without their collusion.

Also Read: Rahul alleges massive voter deletion scam. Is it possible? Expert explains

EPIC numbers misused

The Congress MLA cited the examples of a retired teacher Suryakant Govin, whose EPIC number was misused to request the deletion of 12 voters, and an illiterate voter Godha Bai, whose EPIC card was used to delete 12 voters in just 14 minutes.

“This is a major network,” Patil charged, adding that mobile phones used for the deletions were traced to states including Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh.

The office of the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) on Thursday said all available information with the EC regarding alleged attempts to delete 6,018 votes in Aland constituency in the run-up to the 2023 assembly polls had already been shared with the Superintendent of Police, Kalaburagi.

(With agency inputs)