Bengaluru, Sep 18 (NationPress) The Chief Minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah, stated on Thursday that the disclosures made by the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition and Congress figure, Rahul Gandhi, have once again unveiled how Indian democracy is being undermined through organized and centralized efforts under the guise of 'vote theft'.

In a post on his official X account, CM Siddaramaiah remarked, "The Aland case in Kalaburagi is not merely an isolated event but a glimpse into a broader conspiracy aimed at manipulating electoral rolls and stripping citizens of their voting rights."

"From February 2022 to February 2023, a staggering 6,018 Form-7 applications were submitted through Election Commission applications to remove names from the voters' list in the Aland Assembly constituency. Upon investigation, only 24 were found to be legitimate; the remaining 5,994 were deemed fraudulent. Stolen voter information, fake logins, and mobile numbers originating from outside Karnataka were utilized to impersonate the 'applicants'," he elaborated.

"Whole families were targeted for vote deletions without their consent. A case has been filed, prompting the Karnataka Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to initiate an inquiry," Siddaramaiah noted.

"For 18 months, the Karnataka CID has persistently requested the Election Commission for technical details—destination IPs, device ports, and OTP trails—that are vital for uncovering the source of this operation and identifying those responsible," he continued.

"The Election Commission of India (ECI) has declined to provide this information. Today, rather than addressing these significant requests, the Commission dismissed the allegations as 'incorrect and baseless', asserting that no vote deletions can occur without proper protocol. However, pressing questions remain: why has critical digital evidence been withheld despite 18 reminders?" the Chief Minister questioned.

"The evidence presented by Rahul Gandhi illustrates that this was not merely local mischief. Software was employed to impersonate the first voter in each booth; fraudulent numbers were inserted, and deletions were predominantly concentrated in areas favoring Congress," he emphasized.

"Similar operations have surfaced in Maharashtra, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh—and previously in Bengaluru Central's Mahadevapura Assembly constituency, where significant irregularities in electoral rolls were discovered," he highlighted.

"This raises profound questions: Was the Aland incident merely the tip of the iceberg? In 2018, the BJP narrowly won this Assembly seat. In 2023, nearly 6,000 deletions were attempted. In 2024, the BJP again secured this seat. How many such manipulations have evaded detection in other constituencies? How many election results were influenced?" CM Siddaramaiah probed.

"The reality is clear: the BJP is attempting Vote Chori, while the Election Commission obstructs the investigation. By withholding data, the ECI is safeguarding the guilty instead of upholding democracy," he alleged.

"On behalf of the people of Karnataka, I demand that the Election Commission promptly provide all technical details—IP logs, device ports, and OTP trails—to the CID within one week. If the Commission fails to comply, it will be revealed as complicit in protecting those undermining democracy," CM Siddaramaiah declared.

"I wish to convey to the people of Karnataka and the youth of India: This is about the integrity of your vote and your future. The Congress will not allow Vote Chori to prevail. We will persist in this struggle until accountability is established and democracy is preserved," he concluded.