T.N. Prathapan alleges district administration blocking records on Suresh Gopi’s vote additions

The district administration is deliberately blocking access to records related to Union Minister Suresh Gopi’s vote additions, alleged KPCC Political Affairs Committee member T.N. Prathapan.

Addressing media here on Saturday, Mr. Prathapan claimed that in the last Lok Sabha election, more than 60,000 BJP workers, including members of Suresh Gopi’s own family, fraudulently added votes across over 1,000 booths using fake documents and false affidavits.

To obtain proof, All India Congress Committee (AICC) member Anil Akkara had submitted an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act to the District Collector, who is also the Chief Electoral Officer. However, the application was rejected, citing the absence of records.

Supplementary voters’ list

On August 14, Mr. Akkara specifically requested copies of the supplementary voters’ list containing the names of Suresh Gopi and his family, along with residential certificates used for vote additions. Instead of providing the documents, the Collector returned the application with the explanation that “the requested records are intellectual property stored in the Chief Electoral Officer’s IT application database and cannot be shared.”

Calling the reply “bizarre,” Mr. Prathapan said, “If these records are released, the truth will come out and Suresh Gopi will not be able to continue as MP even for a moment.” He asserted that the votes added in Thrissur by Suresh Gopi and BJP workers were backed by forged documents and false declarations.

He further charged that the Collector, acting as District Magistrate, was withholding the records in line with the interests of the State government, which, like the BJP, wanted to prevent their release. “The RTI Act has no provision to deny such documents. We will file an appeal,” he said.

Mr. Prathapan concluded by questioning, “Why is the district administration and the Chief Electoral Officer obstructing the disclosure of details about the fake vote additions by Suresh Gopi and BJP workers? One thing is clear, the State government also had a role in this fraudulent vote-adding process.”