Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on the BJP, RSS, and Election Commission of India (ECI) during a rally in Ara, Bhojpur district, accusing them of orchestrating “vote chori” (vote theft) nationwide. Addressing supporters on the Voter Adhikar Yatra, Gandhi called the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar an “attack on the Constitution and democracy,” alleging it enables voter manipulation to favor the ruling BJP-led NDA government.
Waving a copy of the Constitution, Gandhi, the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition, claimed, “The BJP, RSS, and EC are stealing votes across India. Voting is the right of Dalits, minorities, and women, but the Modi government strips them of it to win polls.” He vowed that the Congress-led INDIA bloc would prevent vote theft in Bihar’s upcoming assembly elections, asserting, “We won’t let the BJP and EC steal a single vote here.”
Gandhi alleged widespread electoral fraud in states like Maharashtra, where he claims the ECI added one crore votes post-2024 Lok Sabha elections, all favoring the BJP. He cited a Congress investigation in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura segment, uncovering 1,00,250 fake votes, including duplicate voters and invalid addresses, which allegedly secured the BJP’s Bangalore Central seat. The ECI has dismissed these claims as baseless, demanding Gandhi submit a sworn affidavit or apologize, a challenge he rejected, stating, “My word as an MP is my oath.”
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The Voter Adhikar Yatra, launched on August 17 in Sasaram, spans 1,300 km across 20 Bihar districts and ends with a mega rally in Patna on September 1. Supported by allies like RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav and DMK’s MK Stalin, Gandhi aims to make it a nationwide movement against electoral fraud. Critics, including BJP’s Gaurav Bhatia, call the campaign a political stunt, urging legal action over unverified claims. As Bihar’s polls near, the controversy intensifies, with the Supreme Court reviewing SIR-related petitions alleging voter disenfranchisement.
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