The Congress on Sunday organised a massive rally at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi, intensifying its campaign over alleged “vote chori” and irregularities in the special intensive revision of electoral rolls. The protest comes amid heightened exchanges in Parliament between the government and the opposition over electoral integrity.
Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi addressed the crowd, targeting both the BJP and the RSS. “Listen to RSS Chief Dr Mohan Bhagwat’s statement, the world doesn’t look at truth, it looks at power. Whoever has power is respected. This ideology belongs to the RSS. Our ideology, the ideology of India, of Hinduism, of every religion, says that truth is the most important thing. Mohan Bhagwat says truth is meaningless; power is important,” he said.
Gandhi further alleged, “They do ‘vote chori’. Rs 10,000 was given during the elections. The Election Commission of India is working in collusion with the BJP. PM Narendra Modi changed the law to ensure no action can be taken against the Election Commissioner, no matter what he does.”
He highlighted irregularities in voters’ lists, including “a Brazilian woman in the voters list,” and homes with “500-600 voters,” questioning the integrity of the process. “It may take some time, but in India, the truth will prevail. We follow the path of truth, and we will remove them from power. Vote chori is the biggest attack on the Constitution of India,” Gandhi said.
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also addressed the rally, accusing the government of undermining democratic institutions. “Elections are not being conducted properly; there is suspicion at every step,” she said. She stressed the constitutional right to vote, recalling Nehru’s vision, “Our voice should reach the PM’s residence. Every citizen is a part of Mother India, and this thought shaped our Constitution.”
Priyanka Gandhi criticised the Election Commission for allegedly ignoring violations and warned supporters against losing hope over electoral defeats. “You should not lose heart over Bihar; the entire country knows BJP wins through ‘vote theft’,” she said, referring to alleged inducements during elections.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the government of misleading Parliament and claimed electoral mandates in several states had been stolen. “They provided incorrect information in Parliament. We had asked how votes were stolen; Rahul Gandhi presented evidence. Governments in Anand, Maharashtra, and Haryana have come to power by stealing votes. Those in power today were not elected by the people,” he said.
Senior Congress leaders, including K C Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Sachin Pilot, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, were present at the rally. Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy also attended. Venugopal alleged institutional bias, stating, “We are lacking a neutral umpire in this country for conducting elections. That is why we are going completely for a campaign and movement. The five-crore signature drive has to be submitted to the President of India. We want to ensure the voice of the people is heard.”
The BJP responded sharply. Leader Sudhanshu Trivedi condemned the rally, accusing Congress of abusive language and promoting disorder. “The Congress party is becoming a platform for anarchy, operating under a Muslim League-Maoist agenda. Videos show workers chanting against PM Modi; this is utterly reprehensible,” he said.
BJP MP Sambit Patra said the rally was an effort by Congress to protect infiltrators and alleged that the party was fabricating claims regarding election irregularities.
BJP MP Sambit Patra said, “Today the Congress party is holding a rally against vote theft at Ramlila Maidan. It is being said that people are also coming from other states ruled by Congress. Surprisingly, even after the discussion in the House, the Congress party is holding this rally. This same Congress party had submitted an application in the House for a discussion on SIR. Everyone in the House expressed their thoughts, 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 from that, their true form is revealed, and they fabricated a story about SIR… They made up the entire story, and when the Home Minister gave point-by-point responses one by one… The Congress party heard about all the issues. When they won in Telangana, Himachal, Karnataka, there was no vote theft, but where the BJP won, there was vote theft… When the Home Minister mentioned infiltrators, that the Congress party is trying to protect the infiltrators, then they created a deadlock and walked out; this clearly shows that this rally against SIR that is happening is an effort by the Congress party to protect the infiltrators…”
The Ramlila Maidan event marks a new phase in the political confrontation between Congress and BJP, with the integrity of electoral processes and the independence of constitutional institutions taking centre stage.
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