Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 17: The senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, on Sunday launched his 16-day-long ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ from Sasaram in poll-bound Bihar for awakening the voters about their rights to cast their votes in the face of alleged “Vote chori” attempt by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Lashing out at the ECI, Mr Gandhi alleged that in the entire country, vote theft was going on. Party workers and supporters of INDIA bloc gathered in large numbers at the venue near Suvara airstrip in Rohtas district, where they chanted slogans in support of their respective party leaders.
INDIA bloc supporters and party workers continuously waved flags at the venue. Congress also played songs related to ‘Vote Chori’. The Yatra will cover 1,300 kilometres and will conclude with a mega rally in Patna on September 1, where leaders of various INDIA parties would attend.
Sharing details of his Yatra in a post on X, Mr Gandhi said, “16 days. 20+ districts. 1,300+ km. We are coming among the people with the Voter Rights Yatra.” “This is the fight to protect the most fundamental democratic right — ‘one person, one vote.’ Join us in Bihar to save the Constitution,” Mr Gandhi added.
Addressing the rally, Mr Gandhi said, “In Maharashtra all the Opinion Polls were predicting that the INDIA bloc would form the government, but in the election results, BJP led alliance formed the government. BJP got the votes of one crore new voters by wrong means.” Accompanied by Congress leader K.C. Venugopal, Mr Gandhi further alleged, “In the entire country, vote theft is going on in the name of Special Intensive Revision (SIR), they want to add new voters and steal the votes.” In his short speech, Mr. Gandhi roundly attacked the BJP asserting that people of Bihar would not allow the vote theft.
Party spokesperson Pawan Khera told reporters that this Yatra would be yet another milestone in the democratic history of India. “Whenever Rahul Gandhi has embarked upon such a march, democracy has turned a new page,” he said, adding that “The Yatra will be a historic journey, which will prove to be a milestone in the fight for the existence of all of us.” Giving details, he said, besides Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, other partners of the INDIA bloc would also be part of the Yatra.
The Congress said it was not just another political march but a moral and constitutional crusade to safeguard democracy, protect the sanctity of ‘one person-one vote’ and ensure that the voices of the most marginalised are not “stolen by fraud”.
In a post on X, the Congress general secretary in-charge of Communications, Jairam Ramesh, said, “After the transformational Bharat Jodo Yatra and Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Rahul Gandhi has now launched the Voter Adhikar Yatra with other INDIA parties.
“This Yatra arises in the context of the BJP’s ploy to disenfranchise lakhs of voters in Bihar through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls and the shocking revelations of ‘vote chori’ happening across the country.” “Every yatra has given people faith that change is possible,” Mr Ramesh said.
The Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge lashed out at the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his effusive praise of the RSS, the BJP’s parent body, in his Independence Day speech. Mr Kharge claimed that the outfit had been “opposed” to freedom from the British. “Modi claimed, from the ramparts of the Red Fort two days ago, that the RSS is the greatest NGO, has been working selflessly for the nation for nearly 100 years and deserves credit for Independence. Our freedom fighters must be turning in their graves,” the Congress president said.
He also charged the Election Commission with acting like an “agent” of the “dangerous” Narendra Modi government at the Centre, which posed a “threat” to the Constitution and the people’s right to vote. Mr Kharge referred to the speech by Gandhi, who spoke before him and alleged that 1 crore voters’ names were added in Maharashtra in the period between the Lok Sabha elections and the assembly polls held a few months later, and claimed that “all appeared to have voted for the BJP-led coalition.”
The Congress alleged that the Election Commission stood “thoroughly exposed” not only for its “incompetence” but also for its “blatant partisanship” after the poll body hit out at the Opposition party for its “vote chori” charges. The Congress also termed as “laughable” the claims made by the ECI that it makes no distinction between the ruling party and the Opposition.
Veteran Congress leader Digvijaya Singh hit out at the Election Commission, accusing it of functioning as an arm of the ruling BJP and said it should respond to the Opposition’s charge about “vote theft” instead of trading barbs. Mr Singh’s remarks have come after Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s statement earlier in the day that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should give a declaration under oath within seven days on his allegations of irregularities in the voter list, else his ‘vote theft’ claims would be rendered baseless and invalid.
Addressing a gathering at a book release event in Indore, the former chief minister said, “The ECI is today working completely as an arm of the BJP. To save democracy, it is necessary to prove this at every polling booth and work together for fair elections.” He alleged that fake voters had been registered in Maharashtra and other states and said fair elections were essential for a successful democracy. “Gandhi had already demonstrated how ‘vote theft’ was taking place across the country,” the veteran leader said.
The Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav thanked Mr Gandhi and other opposition leaders for launching the Voter Adhikar Yatra ahead of the upcoming assembly election. “The work which BJP cannot do on its own is now taking help of EC to remove the genuine voters from the draft rolls. EC is cheating the people in the name of SIR. Attempts are not only being made to take away the voting rights but to snatch your existence as well. But I promise that I will not allow them to do so,” Mr Yadav said.
He added that he would not allow irregularities in Bihar. Praising the commitment of his father to attend the rally, Mr Yadav informed that doctors have advised his ailing father Lalu Prasad to avoid crowds but despite that he was present to raise people’s voice.