Gandhi warns CEC, 2 ECs of stern action for 'vote chori' when INDIA bloc forms govt

Gaya Ji (Bihar), Aug 18 (PTI) Asserting that "vote chori" is an attack on 'Bharat Mata', Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday warned the chief election commissioner and the two election commissioners of stern action when the INDIA bloc forms government.

In a blistering attack on the Election Commission, he also said that just like Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks about special package, the poll body had also brought in a "new special package" for Bihar, which is named SIR (special intensive revision), a "new form of vote theft".

Addressing a gathering here, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha said the Election Commission was asking him to file an affidavit even after the poll panel's "vote theft" had been caught.

"I want to tell the EC that the whole country will ask you to give an affidavit. Give us some time, we will catch your theft in every assembly and Lok Sabha seat, and put it before the people," he said.

"What did they do? Like PM (Narendra) Modi ji talks of a special package, the EC has brought a new special package for Bihar named SIR, which means a new form of vote theft," Gandhi said as he wound up the second day of the Voter Adhikar Yatra with RJD's Tejashwi Yadav by his side.

The former Congress chief also launched a direct attack on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.

"Whatever I say, I do it. You have seen that I don't lie from the stage... these three election commissioners... I want to tell them that it is Modiji's government right now... Tejashwi (Yadav) ji said that you (election commissioners) have taken BJP membership and are working for them.

"But understand one thing, a day will come when there will be an INDIA bloc government in Bihar and Delhi; then we will take action against the three of you... You've stolen (vote) from the whole country, " Gandhi said.

Amid rain, Gandhi held up a copy of the Constitution and said the Constitution is of Bharat Mata and has been framed by the likes of B R Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Jawaharlal Nehru.

"It has the voice of the soul of India. When they steal votes, they attack the Constitution and Bharat Mata. Nobody can touch this Constitution," he asserted.

"Election commissioners must hear out that if they don't do their job, there will be strict action against them," Gandhi added.

He said that after realising that "vote chori" had happened in Maharashtra and Haryana, the Congress investigated and found evidence of it after analysing the data of one assembly segment under a Karnataka Lok Sabha seat.

"I said clearly that one lakh votes were stolen in one assembly segment, and what does the Election Commission do? It does not say that the leader of the opposition has raised questions, and let us check it. Instead, they ask me to give an affidavit.

"Then they say 'why you did not complain earlier?'; they say if you do not give an affidavit within a week, then this complaint has no meaning," Gandhi said, adding, "They (EC) are responsible, their theft has been caught, and they are asking me to file an affidavit." The senior Congress leader claimed that the poll panel got to know that their theft had been caught in Maharashtra and Haryana, which is why they have come up with a "new form of theft through SIR (of electoral rolls) in Bihar".

Gandhi asserted that Prime Minister Modi and the EC "will not succeed in carrying out 'vote chori' in Bihar".

"Vote chori is done to snatch away your future and your house from you. Adani is given the whole infrastructure, from airports to ports, but if you want to dream of opening a firm, the youth in Bihar cannot dream because your vote is being snatched.

"Therefore, we have started the Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar so that EC knows that if they try to indulge in 'vote chori' here, the people of Bihar will teach them a lesson," Gandhi said.

The leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha made the remarks a day after Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar served a seven-day ultimatum to him for submitting a signed affidavit to back his claims, else the allegations would be considered baseless and invalid.

In his first press conference after Gandhi levelled allegations of 'vote chori' in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and several opposition leaders flagged issues about the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, CEC Kumar asked the Congress leader to either apologise or back his claims with a signed affidavit as required under electoral rules.

"Give an affidavit or apologise to the nation. There is no third option. If an affidavit is not given within seven days, this means that all allegations are baseless," said Kumar on Sunday, flanked by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi. PTI ASK NSD NSD