Rahul Gandhi’s campaign in Bihar against alleged vote theft has enthused Congress leaders over 1,000km away in Uttarakhand, where the party rolled out the “Vote Choron, Gaddi Chhoro” drive on the first day of the four-day monsoon session of the Assembly.
Coinciding with Rahul’s Voter Adhikar Yatra, which reached Bihar’s Nawada on Tuesday, the Congress leaders took to the streets with placards and posters at Bhararisain, the summer capital of the hill state.
Holding up posters with slogans such as “Bharatiya Janata Party vote chor hai” and “Dhami sarkar, ekdam bekar” written on them, the Congress members walked over a kilometre to reach the Assembly.
They entered the hall and demanded a debate on the controversy, leading to the House being adjourned thrice between 11am and 3pm.
The Congress members allegedly damaged the desk of the Vidhan Sabha secretary and broke his microphone while chanting slogans in the Well.
Later, Yashpal Arya, leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, told reporters: “The BJP has stolen votes across India, but we have caught them red-handed at some places. This movement will continue in the state even after the Vidhan Sabha session is over. What they did in Nainital during the local body election has once again proved that they are vote thieves.”
The Congress had accused the BJP of kidnapping five of its members who were supposed to vote in the election for the Nainital Zilla Panchayat president on August 14. The Congress moved Nainital High Court, which ordered a repoll.
The five Congress members, who are still untraceable, have issued a video message, stating that they had not been kidnapped but were hunkering down in a safe place. They didn’t explain the reason.
MP echo
Congress leader Umang Singhar on Tuesday alleged “votes were stolen” in more than 27 seats in the 2023 Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections and the ruling BJP was given “unethical benefit”.
The leader of the Opposition in the Assembly claimed that lakhs of voters were added a few months before the elections.