Incorrect applications were rejected, FIR was filed in 2023: Karnataka CEO responds to Rahul Gandhi's claims

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], September 18 (ANI): The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Karnataka on Thursday responded to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s fresh claims of “vote chori” in Aland constituency, stating that the poll body had already rejected all incorrect applications and an FIR was filed in the matter in 2023.

The Karnataka CEO said in a statement that the ERO in Aland received 6,018 online applications through Form 7 in December 2022. “Suspecting the genuineness of such a large number of applications submitted online for deletion of electors’ names in 46-Aland LAC in Karnataka, verification of each application was conducted by ERO/AERO/BLOS,” an official statement said.

Only 24 applications were found to be genuine, and another 5,994 were found to be incorrect. Accordingly, 24 applications were accepted, and 5,994 incorrect applications were rejected and not deleted, the statement added.

The statement has been issued in response to the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s claims earlier today, in which he slammed the Election Commission of India for allegedly “not cooperating” with the voter fraud investigation opened up by the Karnataka Crime Investigation Department (Karnataka CID) in the Aland assembly segment in the Kalaburagi district.

The leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha has claimed that the investigation into the alleged fraud has been stalled for over 2 years as the poll body is not replying to the letters sent by the CID, calling it “proof” that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is “protecting vote chors (vote thieves).

Responding to it, the Chief Electoral Officer said that based on the inquiry findings by BLOS, ERO 46-Aland LAC lodged an FIR with the Inspector of Police, Aland Police Station, Kalaburagi district on February 21, 2023.

The official statement further stated that based on the instructions given by ECI, the CEO, Karnataka, has handed over to the Superintendent of Police, Kalaburagi district, on 06.09.2023, all the available information with ECI for completing the investigation.

The shared information includes the Objector’s details, including Form Reference Number, name of the Objector, his EPIC number and mobile number used for log-in and mobile number provided by the Objector for processing, software application medium, IP address, applicant place, Form submission date and time, and user creation date, an official statement said.

After providing the requested information, meetings were also conducted by the Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka, with the Investigating Officer and Cyber Security experts of the Police to review the progress of the investigation, the statement added.

Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi claimed that the “group of people” who are systematically targeting certain voters who vote for the Opposition parties, and who primarily belong to the OBC, Dalit, and marginalised communities.

ECI has called Rahul Gandhi’s allegations “baseless and incorrect”, highlighting that no deletion of any vote can be done online by any member of the public. (ANI)

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