Congress steps up ‘vote chori’ campaign; Rahul Gandhi names Election Commissioners

New Delhi: Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, addressed a Congress rally at Ramlila Maidan on Sunday, renewing allegations of electoral manipulation by the BJP and claiming collusion with the Election Commission of India.

“They do vote chori,” Gandhi said, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had offered full immunity to “colluding” Election Commission officials through amendments to the law. He named the Chief Election Commissioner and the two Election Commissioners from the stage, claiming that PM Modi has said no action can be taken against them, regardless of what these officials do.

Without directly naming the ruling party, Gandhi further alleged that while voting is taking place, they provide Rs 10,000.

“They look confident only till they are in power,” he said, recalling Mahatma Gandhi’s observation that truth is supreme. “I guarantee you that by putting our force behind truth and upholding the ideology of the Hindu religion and all other religions that describe truth as supreme, we will remove them from power,” he added.

What did Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge say?

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said the BJP and the RSS are sowing seeds of venom through their divisive ideology. He affirmed that the Congress is committed to upholding its ideology and will remove the BJP from power.

He accused BJP leaders of performing “drama” and being incapable of replicating Rahul Gandhi’s achievement of undertaking an 800-kilometre yatra, meeting the poor, and caring for them.

Pointing to the Congress’s strong performance in the recent Kerala local elections, Kharge led the crowd in slogans of “Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhor” and “Vande Mataram.” He said the people must boldly fight the BJP, and that each Congress worker would join the effort to dislodge rivals who have allegedly come to power through “Vote Chori.”

“The BJP wants to take away poor people’s right to vote and continue to occupy the seat of power through malpractices,” he said.

Kharge also criticised the ruling party’s foreign travel practices. He said the BJP often alleges that Rahul Gandhi goes abroad after the Parliament session, yet PM Modi himself travels overseas while the House is in session without responding to questions raised by the Leader of the Opposition and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

The Congress president further urged party workers not to be intimidated by probe agencies, which he claimed are allegedly unleashed against them. He added that the BJP and RSS never participated in India’s freedom struggle, and are now attempting to mislead the public over Vande Mataram and the alleged friction between former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

IANS