Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Thursday (September 18, 2025) launched a direct attack on Chief Election Commissioner (CEC Gyanesh Kumar). He accused him of shielding “vote chors” and protecting those who, in his words, are “destroying democracy.”
Rahul Gandhi repeated his charge that the Election Commission failed to stop manipulation during recent elections. He claimed that in Karnataka’s Aland constituency, 6,018 votes were marked for deletion. At the same time, in Maharashtra’s Rajura constituency, 6,850 votes were listed for addition. He said this was not random but carried out using centralized software and through calls made outside Karnataka.
The Congress leader argued that these actions point to an organized attempt to weaken democracy. He said that instead of stopping irregularities, CEC Gyanesh Kumar allowed them to continue. According to him, the Election Commission must act as a protector of people’s rights, not a shield for those who tamper with elections.
Rahul Gandhi stressed that “vote chori” is no small issue. He called it an assault on democracy and warned that if left unchecked, citizens will lose faith in the entire electoral process. He said the opposition will keep exposing such manipulations until accountability is fixed.
Gandhi also linked his attack to his earlier claims made during rallies in Karnataka and Maharashtra. He had argued that “vote chori” is not limited to one state but is part of a larger pattern. He described it as an “atom bomb” on democracy, meant to silence the people’s mandate.
His remarks have fueled political heat. Opposition parties backed his statement, while BJP leaders dismissed his charges as baseless. However, Gandhi declared that no denial can hide the truth. He said the Congress will push harder for transparency and reforms to prevent vote theft in future elections.
