Rahul Gandhi had earlier accused the poll body chief of stonwalling Karnataka CID’s request for information to help identify the culprits who sought illegal deletion of votes.
Credit: PTI, DH File Photos
New Delhi: With the Karnataka SIT zeroing in on at least six suspects in case of attempted deletion of votes in Aland constituency, Congress on Thursday claimed that the "vote theft by the BJP" is a "direct attack on democracy" and the whole gamut of the irregularities is yet to come out.
Amid SIT's claim of finding "evidence" of Rs 80 being paid to delete each voter in the Aland seat, the party also alleged that this expose of 'vote theft' pertains to "just one assembly seat" and "revelation of where else BJP has systematically carried out such 'vote theft' is yet to come".
Last month, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had alleged that the Election Commission was not providing digital evidence required by the Karnataka CID, which has constituted an SIT to probe the allegation of fraudulently applying for deleting 6,018 votes from Aland.
Rahul Gandhi had on September 18 brought Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar under direct line of fire, accusing him of stonewalling Karnataka CID’s request for information held by the poll body that could help identify the culprits who sought illegal deletion of votes.
"The SIT has found evidence that a payment of 80 rupees was made for deleting each voter from the Aland seat. The Karnataka SIT investigation revealed that in this 'vote theft' scam, fake applications were filed to delete the names of 6,018 voters, for which a total payment of 4.8 lakh rupees was made. These fake applications for voter deletion were being sent from a data operating center in Kalaburagi," the Congress said on 'X'.
In this case, it claimed, the SIT conducted raids at the premises of BJP leader Subhash Guttedar, his sons, and their chartered accountant, allegedly recovering seven laptops and several mobile phones.
"This 'vote theft' by BJP is a direct attack on democracy -- where the rights of the poor and marginalized are being snatched away, and their voices are being suppressed. But no more... The truth about BJP’s 'vote theft' and electoral fraud has now come before the entire country. The public has understood their intentions and will teach them a stern lesson. Vote thieves - vacate the throne," it said.
In another post, it claimed, "The cost of splitting a vote is 'Rs 80'. This is the game of BJP and the Election Commission."