Govt of stolen mandate has no legitimacy, Bihar polls to mark beginning of end of Modi govt's corrupt rule: Cong

Patna, Sep 24 (PTI) Setting the tone for its Bihar poll campaign, the Congress on Wednesday mounted a multi-pronged attack on the BJP over alleged "vote chori", the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls and the increasing economic "distress", asserting that the upcoming election in the state will mark the beginning of the end of the "corrupt rule" of the government led by the saffron party.

The opposition party also slammed the BJP-led Centre over its foreign policy, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "huglomacy" has backfired, leaving India "diplomatically isolated and unable to secure its national interests".

The assertions were made at an over-four-hour meeting of the extended Congress Working Committee (CWC) at the party's Sadaqat Ashram state headquarters here, the first meeting of the Congress's highest decision-making body in Bihar in the post-Independence era.

At the meeting, leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi told his colleagues in the Congress that there will be no compromise with the self-respect of the party workers, according to sources. The remarks assume significance as they come amid seat-sharing talks for the Bihar polls between the Mahagathbandhan allies.

Two resolutions -- one political and the other an appeal to the voters of Bihar --“ were passed at the CWC meeting that was chaired by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and attended by former party chief Rahul Gandhi, treasurer Ajay Maken, general secretaries K C Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh and Sachin Pilot, and Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Kumar, among others.

Congress Parliamentary Party chief Sonia Gandhi could not attend the meeting as she was not feeling well, while AICC general secretary and her daughter, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, stayed back in Delhi to take care of her, according to party leaders.

Sources said senior leader Shashi Tharoor also could not make it for the meeting as he fell sick on Tuesday evening.

In his opening address at the meeting, Kharge said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has "mentally retired" Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and considers him to be a "liability", while claiming that the upcoming Assembly polls will mark the beginning of the end of the Modi government's "corrupt rule" at the Centre.

He launched a frontal attack on the BJP over a host of issues, such as alleged "vote chori (vote theft), the economic slowdown, unemployment, social polarisation and the targeting and weakening of autonomous constitutional institutions".

Instead of answering questions on the revelations from various states, the Election Commission (EC) is demanding affidavits from Congress leaders, Kharge said.

Following the example of Bihar, a conspiracy is now being hatched across the country to remove the votes of lakhs of people, the Congress president alleged, referring to the SIR of the electoral rolls in the state.

Vote theft means theft of rations, pensions, medicines, children's scholarships and the exam fees of Dalits, tribals, backward classes, extremely-backward classes, minorities, the weak and the poor, he said.

Focussing on Bihar, Kharge said, "The internal strife within the NDA is now openly visible. Nitish Kumar has been mentally retired by the BJP. The BJP now considers him a liability." "The 2025 Assembly election will prove to be a milestone not only for Bihar but for the entire country. This will mark the beginning of the countdown and the end of the corrupt rule of the Modi government," he said.

The Congress ramped up its attack on the Centre and the EC over the issues of "vote chori" and SIR.

In its political resolution, the CWC said a government built on "stolen mandates" and "rigged voter lists" has no moral or political legitimacy, and claimed that the "conspiracy" of the SIR was another "dirty trick" from the BJP's toolkit to manipulate the electoral rolls to cling on to power.

Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Ramesh said in the next one month, Rahul Gandhi will come out with more revelations on "vote chori", which would be akin to a "hydrogen bomb", a "mini-hydrogen bomb", a "uranium bomb" and a "plutonium bomb".

"This is just the beginning. The revelations related to Mahadevapura and Aland in Karnataka are just the beginning, and there is a long story in this motion about the vote-stealing campaign," he said.

A campaign to collect five crore signatures against "vote chori" was launched on September 15 and will continue till October 15, and these signatures will be submitted to the EC, the Congress leader said.

In the political resolution, the CWC said the EC, long the cornerstone of India's vibrant democracy, has been turned into a "servile mouthpiece of the government".

"'Vote chori' and irregularities in our electoral rolls have shaken public belief in the very foundations of our democracy. The CWC resolved to salute Rahul Gandhi for boldly exposing the shameless 'vote chori' and bravely fighting these brazen attempts to subvert democracy," the resolution said.

"This exposes the systematic and deliberate conspiracy used to manufacture an elected majority for the BJP. A government built on stolen mandates and rigged voter lists has no moral or political legitimacy," it added.

In its appeal to Bihar's voters, the CWC urged them to recognise the power of their votes.

The CWC declared that the SIR "conspiracy" is the "greatest threat to our democracy today".

"As evident in Bihar, this process has been designed to systematically rob citizens from marginalised communities like Dalits, OBCs, adivasis and minorities of their right to vote," it said.

"This disenfranchisement through the attack on the right to vote will culminate in snatching away their rights in government welfare schemes as well as their constitutionally-guaranteed reservations. When the vote of the people is stolen, their future, their dignity and their constitutional entitlements are stolen along with it," it said.

Terming the NDA government in Bihar "note chor", the Congress alleged that corruption and crime have proven to be the two real engines of the so-called "double engine sarkar" in the state.

Meanwhile, Congress leaders parried questions on the reported reluctance of the party to declare RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as the chief ministerial face of the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar. However, party leader Pawan Khera said when the sun is shining bright in the sky, one does not need to declare it and Sachin Pilot asserted that all decisions will be taken at the right time.

In its political resolution, the CWC said it is profoundly worried by the "collapse" of India's foreign policy.

"Prime Minister Modi's 'huglomacy' has backfired: far from boosting India's standing, it has left India diplomatically isolated and unable to secure its national interests," it said.

Gandhi also slammed Modi and said foreign policy is not conducted on the basis of personal friendships, according to sources.

Speaking at the meeting, the former Congress chief accused the Modi government of causing India's foreign policy to "collapse".

He said the prime minister should stand up to US President Donald Trump and keep India's national interest at the forefront, according to the sources.

Earlier, Kharge took a swipe at Modi and said the very people whom he boasts of as "my friends" are putting India in numerous troubles today.

The Congress also said the economic devastation wrought by the Centre has plunged crores of Indians into despair, even as the Modi government "attempts to manipulate data to create the image of a booming economy".

Gandhi also reached out to the numerically-powerful extremely backward classes (EBCs) in Bihar, promising, among other things, a law for protection against atrocities, on the lines of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, if the Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) of opposition parties comes to power in the state.

Gandhi's aggressive EBC outreach, days ahead of the announcement of the Bihar polls, came at an event titled "Ati Pichhda Nyay Sankalp". PTI ASK RC