NEW DELHI: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP, and the Election Commission during his address at the Voter Adhikar Yatra in Siwan on Friday.
Alleging large-scale manipulation of voter lists, Gandhi accused the ruling party of “stealing elections” through fraudulent votes.
Speaking to a massive crowd, Gandhi claimed that Congress had uncovered evidence of fake voters being added to electoral rolls in Maharashtra. “In Maharashtra Lok Sabha elections, our alliance won. In the Assembly elections, BJP’s alliance won. The difference was that nearly one crore fake votes were inserted into Maharashtra’s voting list,” he alleged.
He further said that the Election Commission had refused to share voter lists and videography records despite repeated requests. Gandhi asserted that a Congress inquiry in Bengaluru Central constituency revealed that “in one Assembly seat alone, BJP and the Election Commission colluded to add one lakh fake votes.”
Declaring that elections were being won “not by mandate, but by theft,” Gandhi told the gathering, “Understand this clearly — Narendra Modi is winning by stealing votes. But in Bihar, we will not allow a single vote to be stolen.” The crowd responded with chants against alleged “vote theft.”
During his address, Gandhi also invoked the Constitution, holding up a copy before the public. “The Constitution gives every citizen one vote — not two. Ambani, Adani, or the poorest person — each has only one vote. Vote theft is an attack on Ambedkar’s Constitution,” he said, warning that attempts to manipulate elections were linked to threats against rights of the poor, Dalits, OBCs, EBCs, minorities, women, and marginalized groups.
He accused the Modi government of working hand-in-hand with industrialists, claiming that “after stealing votes, they will snatch ration cards, then land, and push people back to pre-Independence conditions.”
At one point, when lights were switched off at the rally venue, Gandhi asked people to turn on their mobile flashlights, likening them to the power of a single vote. “This light is like your vote. You have one, and it is your strength,” he said.
Calling Modi a “vote thief” repeatedly, Gandhi declared that the Congress would continue exposing alleged irregularities across states including Haryana, Maharashtra, and Karnataka. “We showed the theft in Mahadevapura (Karnataka). Soon, we will show the country where else BJP has stolen votes,” he asserted.
Ending his speech with fiery slogans echoed by the crowd, Gandhi said, “From Bihar, the message has spread across India — vote chors must leave the throne.”
