The Election Commission (EC) has implemented a new ‘e-sign’ feature for voter verification, requiring applicants to authenticate their identities through one-time passwords (OTPs) sent to their Aadhaar-linked phone numbers.
Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi commented on this development, stating that the EC introduced this security measure after he had highlighted concerns regarding “vote theft.” In a post on X, Mr. Gandhi addressed Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, linking the EC’s action to his recent allegations of “electoral fraud.”
These allegations centered on the purported misuse of online voter deletion forms in Karnataka’s Aland constituency prior to the 2023 state Assembly polls. Mr. Gandhi had previously asserted that attempts to delete votes via software were detected and prevented by the Karnataka Criminal Investigation Department (CID). He had also urged the EC to provide relevant details to the CID, and on Wednesday, he further inquired about the timeline for Commissioner Kumar to furnish this evidence.
In response to Mr. Gandhi’s earlier claims, the EC had issued a statement clarifying that “No deletion of any vote can be done online by any member of the public, as misconceived by Shri Rahul Gandhi.”
Source: indianexpress.com