Cong is 'quintessential vote chor', alleges BJP; raises issue of Pawan Khera's 2 voter IDs

New Delhi, Sep 2 (PTI) The BJP on Tuesday alleged that Congress leader Pawan Khera had two voter IDs and Rahul Gandhi was running a campaign against voter-roll revision in Bihar to "protect and hide" his party's theft of votes.

Khera hit back at the BJP, saying in a bid to target him and his party, it has ended up targeting the Election Commission (EC) and left it "bleeding".

The Congress leader said he had applied to remove his second EPIC card in 2016-17, but it seems that did not happen and the EC is to be blamed for this.

The fresh BJP-Congress war of words came a day after Rahul Gandhi said his party will soon come out with a "hydrogen bomb" of revelations about "vote chori" and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not be able to show his face to the country afterwards.

"Congress is the quintessential 'vote chor'. That is why they want to tarnish everyone with the same brush," BJP leader Amit Malviya said on X, hitting out at Gandhi over his "vote theft" allegations.

He demanded that the Election Commission investigate how Khera "holds two active EPIC numbers, and whether he voted multiple times - a clear violation of electoral laws".

"For far too long, they mutilated our electoral system, stole mandates by legitimising illegal infiltrators and non-Indians, and are now worried that the Special Intensive Revision initiated by the Election Commission will expose them further," Malviya said, attacking the Congress.

"It is time India realises that Rahul Gandhi is dangerous for our democracy," he added.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, party national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari claimed that Khera, the Congress' media department head and Gandhi's "close associate", had two voter IDs with different EPIC numbers registered in Jangpura and New Delhi assembly constituencies in the national capital.

"Rahul Gandhi and his close associates are chor (thieves) and making shor (noise)," he said.

"The nexus between Rahul Gandhi and Pawan Khera that has come to light today makes it clear that Rahul Gandhi hates the poor, deprived and oppressed of the country so much that to save the vote chori of his own party leaders and to hide their vote fraud, he is calling the citizens of Bihar 'farzi' and and 'chor' in Bihar," Bhandari charged.

"Rahul Gandhi and Congress are running a voter fraud racket in which different Congress leaders, who have multiple voter IDs, are given protection," he alleged and demanded a reply from Gandhi on the issue.

The BJP spokesperson demanded a probe by agencies concerned into Khera allegedly possessing two voter IDs, calling it a crime under the Representation of People Act, and also asked Gandhi if he would take any action against Khera and remove him from the Congress.

The poll authorities in Delhi, meanwhile, issued a show-cause notice to Khera for allegedly getting himself registered in the electoral roll of more than one constituency, asking him to clarify why action should not be taken against him under the Representation of People Act, 1950.

Slamming Gandhi for making "baseless" accusations of poll rigging against the ruling BJP and the Election Commission, Bhandari alleged that it is the Congress and the Gandhi family that have a history of rigging elections and vote-theft "Sonia Gandhi was not a citizen of India in 1980 but her name figured in the electoral roll. After we protested, her name was removed from the voter list in 1982. Rahul Gandhi is silent on this issue till date," he said and demanded an apology from Gandhi.

Recently, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav was also found to be having two Voter IDs, but Gandhi chose to remain silent on the matter, he added.

Bhandari termed Gandhi's campaign against alleged "vote theft" a "conspiracy against democracy" and cautioned people against believing in the Congress leader's "bundle of lies".

"Rahul Gandhi keeps lying because he is anti-democracy and a dangerous man. With his unrelenting lies, he wants to inject a sense of mistrust in the people's mind because people have given their mandate to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a third consecutive term", he charged.

The BJP spokesperson alleged that Gandhi is spearheading a campaign against Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar and spreading "lies every day because he knows that the Congress will suffer a setback" in the upcoming Bihar polls if the voter list is cleaned.

"He knows that his two planks -- the support of 'ghuspaithiya' (intruders) and the Congress leaders' vote fraud of which Pawan Khera is an example -- will end with the completion of SIR, and his party would not be able to retain even the seats it has," Bhandari said. PTI PK RT