New Delhi, Sep 24: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday sharpened his attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI), questioning Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the “Aland vote fraud” controversy in Karnataka. Gandhi alleged that the Commission’s recent move to introduce an Aadhaar-linked e-sign feature for voter addition and deletion came only after the issue was highlighted by him and his party.
Referring to the new digital verification system, Gandhi wrote in a post on X, “Gyanesh ji, we caught the theft and only then did you remember to put a lock. Now we’ll catch the thieves too. So tell us, when are you going to give the evidence to CID?” His remarks were a direct reference to the ongoing probe by the Karnataka Criminal Investigation Department (CID) into alleged irregularities in the deletion of votes in the Aland Assembly constituency.
Earlier, Gandhi had claimed that attempts were made to cancel or delete voter entries in Aland through software manipulation, but the state CID intervened and prevented what he described as a “vote-theft attempt.” He urged the Election Commission to share all relevant records with the CID so that those responsible could be identified and prosecuted.
The Congress leader also linked the alleged incident to what he called a larger pattern of “vote manipulation” under the BJP’s watch, insisting that unemployment and corruption are directly tied to the erosion of fair electoral practices.
However, senior EC officials have maintained that the introduction of Aadhaar-based e-sign verification was part of a broader reform process and not a response to the Aland controversy, as Gandhi has alleged. They stressed that the system is aimed at ensuring greater transparency and preventing duplication or fraudulent deletions in electoral rolls.
The issue has now become a political flashpoint, with the Congress seeking to portray the Aland case as symptomatic of deeper systemic flaws in the electoral process, while the Election Commission is attempting to defend its credibility by pointing to ongoing reforms. The CID investigation, meanwhile, is expected to determine whether the allegations amount to procedural lapses or deliberate fraud.