SIR new weapon for 'vote chori', will protect 'one person, one vote': Rahul

Aurangabad/Gayaji (Bihar), Aug 18 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is a "new weapon" for "vote chori" and vowed to protect the "one person, one vote" principle by stopping "vote theft".

Gandhi made the remarks in a post on his WhatsApp channel while talking about his meeting with a group of people who had cast their votes in the previous Lok Sabha election but their names were deleted from the electoral rolls during the SIR exercise in Bihar.

The leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha met the group at the launch of his Vote Adhikar Yatra in Bihar's Sasaram on Sunday.

In his post in Hindi along with a picture of the meeting, Gandhi said, "The SIR is a new weapon for vote theft. Coincidentally, these people standing with me in this picture are a 'living' proof of this theft." "All of them had cast their votes in the 2024 Lok Sabha election -- but by the time the Bihar Assembly polls came, their identity, their existence were erased from the democracy of India," he said.

"Do you know who they are? Raj Mohan Singh (70): Farmer and retired soldier; Umravati Devi (35): Dalit and labourer; Dhanjay Kumar Bind (30): Backward class and labourer; Sita Devi (45): Woman and former MGNREGA labourer; Raju Devi (55): Backward class and labourer; Mohmuddin Ansari (52): Minority and labourer," he said.

The "collusion" of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Election Commission (EC) is punishing them for being "Bahujan" and poor -- "even our soldiers were not spared" -- Gandhi said.

Neither will they have a vote nor identity or rights, he added.

"Due to social discrimination and economic conditions, they are unable to fight against the conspiracy of the system. We stand here with them to protect the most basic right of 'one person, one vote'," the Congress leader asserted.

This is a question of rights and of everyone's participation in a democracy, he said, adding that "we will not let it end under any circumstances".

Later, in Aurangabad, Gandhi met another set of people who had voted in earlier elections but their names were deleted from the new draft voter list.

Sharing an over-four-minute video of his interaction in Aurangabad, Gandhi said, "The votes of people who voted in the last four-five elections were also stolen in Bihar. And, when asked for the reason, the only answer received was -- an order has come from above." "This is a fight for the rights of the poor -- we will not stop. We will stop vote theft," he said.

In the video, Gandhi is seen interacting with people whose names have been deleted from the voters' list. He was accompanied by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Vikassheel Insan Party's Mukesh Sahani and CPI(ML) Liberation's Dipankar Bhattacharya.

Gandhi told the group that the Narendra Modi government brought in a law in 2023 to "ensure that no one can take action" against those who run the EC and it was completely wrong.

Meanwhile, Gandhi, Yadav and Sahani also prayed at the Devkund Surya Mandir in Aurangabad as their Voter Adhikar Yatra entered its second day.

Travelling from Kutumba, the yatra reached Gayaji on Monday evening.

Embarking on the 1,300-km Voter Adhikar Yatra from Sasaram, Gandhi accused the EC on Sunday of "stealing" elections in collusion with the BJP and asserted that the INDIA opposition bloc will not let their "latest conspiracy" to steal the Bihar polls through the SIR exercise succeed.

After 16 days, the yatra is scheduled to conclude with a rally in Patna on September 1.

The yatra is being undertaken in a hybrid mode, on foot and by vehicles, as was Gandhi's Manipur-to-Mumbai Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

It will pass through Aurangabad, Gayaji, Nawada, Nalanda, Sheikhpura, Lakhisarai, Munger, Bhagalpur, Katihar, Purnea, Araria, Supaul, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Sitamarhi, East Champaran, West Champaran, Gopalganj, Siwan, Chhapra and Ara. PTI ASK RC