Will K’taka CM Siddaramaiah’s SIT probe into ‘vote theft’ in Aland Assembly segment reveal the truth?

Bengaluru, Sep 20 (NationPress) The Karnataka government has declared that the allegations of 'Vote Chori' related to the Aland Assembly segment, as highlighted by Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, will be investigated by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

In a recent statement made while addressing a query in Gadag city, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah confirmed, “Rahul Gandhi has indicated that approximately 6,000 voter names were removed in the Aland constituency, and this assertion is indeed accurate. An SIT investigation will be initiated to look into the voter fraud allegations in Aland.”

This announcement is anticipated to incite controversy.

During a joint press conference, Minister for RDPR, IT and BT Priyank Kharge and Aland MLA B.R. Patil criticized the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) denials regarding the 'vote chori' allegations made by Gandhi, labeling the ECI's statements as a complete fabrication.

In Bengaluru, Minister Kharge asserted, "Following Rahul Gandhi’s press conference, the Election Commission has begun to act as if they were the ones who uncovered and prevented the voter fraud. They are claiming they halted the removal of voters from the rolls. This is a blatant falsehood."

Congress MLA B.R. Patil applauded Gandhi for bringing the Aland voter fraud issue to the forefront and expressed gratitude to Minister Kharge for his support.

He recounted, "Before the 2023 Assembly elections, a resident from my constituency, Vijay Kumar, informed me that a request had been made to delete his name from the electoral list. When approached by the BLO, he clarified he had not submitted any application. This prompted a series of similar cases to surface.

In total, requests were made to delete the names of 6,018 voters who were supporters of the Congress party. This revelation was shocking. On Feb 10, 2023, I reached out to the Kalaburagi DC. The following day, Priyank Kharge and I held a press conference, and by Feb 13, 2023, I lodged a complaint with the Aland Tahsildar. On Feb 20, 2023, we submitted a complaint to former Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Meena,” Patil elaborated.

He continued, “Upon raising the issue with the State Election Commission, media coverage amplified our allegations. After reviewing our claims, the Commission acknowledged their validity and instructed that the status quo be upheld. Subsequently, the Aland election officer filed a police report regarding fraudulent applications for voter deletions, prompting action against those responsible. This investigation originated from that complaint.”

Patil noted, “Initially, the investigation was assigned to the Aland Dy SP, but due to non-cooperation, it encountered delays. It was then transferred to the Kalaburagi Additional SP, who also reported similar issues. Consequently, I appealed to Home Minister G. Parameshwara to assign the case to the CID, which ultimately took over the investigation. Despite my inquiries about the investigation, CID reported a lack of cooperation from the Election Commission, leaving them at an impasse. They are now contemplating transferring the case to the Cyber Crime division for further investigation.”

Patil accused, “In my constituency, 6,018 applications for deletions were submitted without the knowledge of those targeted. It was a scheme to undermine my election candidacy, orchestrated by the BJP in collaboration with the Election Commission.”

He provided an example involving a retired teacher, Suryakant, whose EPIC number was misused to file deletion requests for 12 voters. When confronted, he denied having made any such request. Similarly, an illiterate individual, Godhabai, allegedly submitted online deletion requests for 12 voters in just 14 minutes. Upon tracing the mobile numbers used, they were linked to various states including Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh.

“Now the EC claims that those voters were not actually deleted. This is correct—they weren’t deleted. However, had we not been vigilant, these deletions would have proceeded, and I would have lost the election by around 1,500 votes. The Election Commission is effectively undermining democracy in this manner. Rahul Gandhi is taking this battle to a national level, and soon he will unveil a significant revelation on this matter,” he asserted.

For a thorough investigation into this voter fraud case, the EC must furnish all information requested by the CID. Yet, the Joint CEO of Karnataka has communicated to the Principal Secretary of the EC that all records have been provided. This is a complete falsehood. If all documents were indeed submitted, why did CID have to send 18 letters? None of these letters received a response,” he criticized.

BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla contended that the charges of 'Vote Chori' are not targeting Rahul Gandhi by the Election Commission, but rather reflect the “Emergency Mindset of Indira Gandhi.”

Poonawalla challenged Gandhi, stating, “While he speaks about vote theft, he should also address the recent disqualification of Karnataka Congress MLA K.Y. Nanjegowda by the High Court. Gandhi ought to observe the videos of Shashi Tharoor and Kirti Azad.”