New Delhi: Intensifying its campaign on alleged “vote theft” and particularly intensive revision of voter lists, the Congress held a mega rally at Ramlila Maidan in the national capital on Sunday. The protest, organized under the banner of “Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod”, comes days after a heated exchange of words between the government and the opposition in Parliament over election integrity.Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday accused the government of weakening democratic institutions and raised questions on the conduct of elections as she addressed the party’s ‘Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod’ rally at Ramlila Maidan in the national capital. Addressing a large gathering of party workers and supporters, Priyanka Gandhi said that elections in the country are no longer being conducted fairly and there is now doubt at every stage of the process. “Elections are not being conducted properly, there is suspicion at every step,” he said, alleging systematic erosion of democratic norms. Recalling India’s constitutional vision, he stressed the centrality of the right to vote. Priyanka Gandhi said, “Our voice should reach the PM residence. It is very important to understand that your vote plays an important role. Nehru ji had said that the people of India, every son and daughter of India, all are a part of Mother India. This idea shaped our Constitution. This Constitution gave you the right to vote.” He also alleged that constitutional institutions are being pressurized to work in accordance with the interests of the government. Addressing a rally against what he called “vote theft” by the Congress, he said, “All institutions in the country are being forced to bow before the government.” Priyanka Gandhi accused the Election Commission of ignoring alleged violations during the election and questioned the integrity of the electoral process. “Election Commission turns a blind eye to payment of Rs 10,000 during election process; isn’t this ‘vote theft’?”. he asked, referring to alleged inducements during the elections. He urged party workers not to be demoralized by the election defeat, especially in Bihar, claiming that the results had been manipulated. He said, “You should not be disappointed by the defeat in Bihar, the entire country knows that BJP wins by ‘vote theft’.”“There are hardly one or two debates in a session in Parliament. When Rahul ji raised the issue, Kharge ji raised the issue that we want to debate on how votes are being stolen through EVMs, he got scared. They did not agree. How did they finally agree? He said that we will also discuss Vande Mataram…I challenge him to fight fair elections. Let them fight on the ballot and they themselves know they will never win. Today you do not need to be disappointed that you lost the Bihar elections. Because the entire country is watching that they win by stealth,” Priyanka said.The rally also follows Rahul Gandhi’s recent remarks in Parliament, where he termed alleged vote theft as a serious threat to democracy, triggering a political confrontation with the ruling BJP.
Senior Congress leadership came
Many senior Congress leaders including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, KC Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh and Sachin Pilot participated in the rally. Former party president Sonia Gandhi was also likely to be present. Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy also attended the event.ANI quoted Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel as saying, “Our party has organized a ‘Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod’ rally at Ramlila Maidan. The Congress party has moved towards a decisive fight and a large number of people will participate in this rally.”According to party sources, Congress units from several states mobilized supporters for the rally. A party spokesperson said 1,027 Congress leaders and workers marched towards the capital from Jammu on Saturday, raising slogans like “Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhore” and “Dilli Chalo”.
Workers gathered from states
Jharkhand Congress President Keshav Mahato Kamlesh said that Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee has made extensive preparations for the program. Describing the rally as historic, he said that a large number of party leaders, workers and representatives from all over Jharkhand have already reached Delhi.
‘There is a lack of a neutral umpire,’ says KC Venugopal.
Congress MP KC Venugopal on Saturday hit out at the Election Commission of India, accusing it of institutional bias and warning of consequences for democracy.“We lack a neutral umpire to conduct elections in this country. This is really very dangerous for democracy.” That’s why we are going to campaign and agitate completely. The signature of Rs 5 crore is to be submitted to the President of India. We are asking for an appointment… We also discussed this vote theft issue in Parliament. Our LOP has given direct suggestions. We are not only criticizing, but also giving clear suggestions...There are a lot of complaints about machines, EVMs. Lakhs of people will participate in it… “This is an internal party event,” Venugopal was quoted as saying by ANI.Venugopal claimed that Congress has collected more than five crore signatures across the country to expose alleged vote theft. He alleged the existence of fake and duplicate votes, said Rahul Gandhi’s press conference had exposed irregularities that benefited the BJP, and accused the Election Commission of ignoring Congress’ complaints while taking action against the party.
Kharge attacks BJP, accuses it of stealing mandate
Addressing the rally, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge accused the government of misleading Parliament and alleged that the election mandate has been stolen in many states.“It is one thing to answer in Parliament, but he (Home Minister Amit Shah) did not answer our questions, he answered from his mind. He gave wrong information in Parliament. We had asked how and in what manner the votes were stolen, and Rahul Gandhi talked about it with evidence… We want to tell people that the governments in Anand, Maharashtra and Haryana have come to power by stealing votes...The people who are in power today have not been elected by the people…”
Sachin Pilot raised questions on the role of Election Commission
Congress leader Sachin Pilot said that concerns are being raised across the country regarding institutional impartiality. He said, “Today the question has arisen across the country that fairness and transparency are disappearing from institutions. The attitude adopted by the Election Commission is extremely unfortunate… The Election Commission should rise above leaders, ideologies or parties and work with impartiality and honesty, which it is not doing...The Election Commission is unable to answer… Unfortunately, when we ask questions to the Election Commission, the answers are given by BJP spokespersons. Pilot said, “Today we are organizing a mega rally in Delhi, where workers from across the country will gather and become the voice of the public and ask questions as to why the Election Commission is not working impartially?”
BJP hit back
Reacting to the rally, BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi accused Congress of using abusive language and promoting chaos.“In the rally organized by the anti-Ram Congress at Ramlila Maidan, foul language and insults were once again used against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Videos have surfaced in which their workers are once again raising slogans wishing for the death of Modi. This shows that the Congress party is now becoming a platform of anarchy rather than a political party working under the Muslim League-Maoist agenda.” You want to praise Rahul Gandhi? go ahead. But the use of such abusive language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which has been done earlier also, is completely condemnable. However, there is no comparison.”The rally marks a fresh escalation in the political battle between the Congress and the BJP, with electoral processes and the role of constitutional institutions now at the center of the conflict.BJP MP Sambit Patra said, “Today the Congress party is holding a rally at Ramlila Maidan against vote theft. It is being said that people are also coming from other Congress ruled states. The surprising thing is that even after the discussion in the House, the Congress Party is holding this rally. This same Congress party had applied in the House for discussion on SIR. Everyone expressed their views in the House and the Union Home Minister also responded to them...A person who always wears a T-shirt gives a lecture on Khadi that day…and this brings out his real self, and he fabricated a story about Saheb…he fabricated the whole story and when the Home Minister responded point by point…the Congress party heard all the issues. When they won in Telangana, Himachal, Karnataka, there was no vote theft, but where BJP won, there was vote theft… When the Home Minister mentioned infiltrators, that the Congress party was trying to save infiltrators, they created a standoff and walked out; This clearly shows that the rally being held against SIR is an attempt by the Congress Party to save the infiltrators…”
