Cong chief Kharge accuses EC of stonewalling crucial information in Karnataka 'voter fraud' matter

New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday accused the Election Commission of having "stonewalled crucial information" which he claimed was effectively shielding those behind alleged "vote chori".

Kharge shared on X a media report which claimed that the case related to an attempt to remove electors by forging Form 7, ahead of the Karnataka Assembly election in 2023 has gone cold since the ECI is yet to share crucial data needed to nab the accused.

There was no immediate response from the Election Commission on the charges but the poll body has in the past dismissed all such claims by the Congress as baseless.

Is the Election Commission of India (ECI) now BJP's back-office for "vote chori", Kharge asked.

"Understand the chronology. Ahead of the May 2023 Karnataka elections, Congress had exposed massive deletion of voters: in Aland Constituency. Thousands of voters were stripped of their rights through a very sophisticated operation of forging Form 7 applications," he alleged.

"In February 2023, a case was filed. The probe revealed 5,994 forged applications - clear evidence of a massive attempt at voter fraud. The Congress government then ordered a CID probe to catch the culprits.

"But here's the twist: while ECI had earlier shared part of the documents needed to trace the forgery, it has now stonewalled the crucial information - effectively shielding those behind the Vote Chori!" Kharge said.

Why has the ECI suddenly blocked vital evidence, he asked.

"Who is it protecting? BJP's Vote Chori department? Is the ECI bending under BJP pressure to derail the CID probe?" the Congress chief said.

Individual's right to vote needs to be protected, Kharge said and added that Indian democracy needs to be protected.