On Thursday, India’s opposition leader accused the election commission of obstructing an inquiry into alleged widespread voter roll manipulation, further challenging the body’s credibility and independence.
Opposition figures and critics have repeatedly claimed that voting integrity in the world’s largest democracy is compromised by targeted voter roll manipulation.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has dismissed all allegations.
However, in his recent criticism, 55-year-old Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the ECI of withholding crucial data needed to identify those responsible for voter roll tampering.
He charged ECI chief Gyanesh Kumar with “shielding individuals who undermine and attack the constitution”.
The ECI termed the accusations as “incorrect” and “baseless,” noting it had filed a police complaint over “certain unsuccessful attempts” to remove voters from the rolls.
On Thursday, Gandhi presented what he described as “100 percent proof” of an attempt to remove thousands of voters in Karnataka using automated software.
He claimed the ECI refused to provide technical data requested by investigators probing an alleged operation targeting Congress-supporting areas.
The Karnataka criminal investigation department, he alleged, had requested this data “18 times in 18 months.”
“And they have not provided it,” he added.
The allegations surface ahead of expected elections in October or November in Bihar, India’s third-largest state with at least 130 million residents.
The opposition accused the ECI of initiating a “mass disenfranchisement” effort after it asked state voters to prove citizenship within weeks, requiring documents few possess for a registration overhaul.
