Rahul Gandhi repeats allegation of ‘Vote Chori’ by BJP, ECI ‘collusion’

New Delhi: Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi addressed a party rally against “Vote Chori” here on Sunday, repeating his allegations of electoral manipulation by the BJP and its “collusion” with the ECI.

“They do vote chori,” said Gandhi, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered full immunity to “colluding” Election Commission officials by amending the law.

He named the Chief Election Commissioner and the two Election Commissioners from the stage at Ramlila Maidan, claiming that PM Modi has said that no action can be taken against them, no matter what these officials do.

Without naming the ruling party, Gandhi alleged that while voting is taking place, they give Rs 10,000.

“They look confident only till they are in power,” he said, recalling Mahatma Gandhi’s observation that truth is supreme.

“I guarantee you that by putting our force behind truth and upholding the ideology of the Hindu religion and all other religions that describe truth as supreme, we will remove them from power,” he said.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said the BJP and the RSS are sowing seeds of venom through their divisive ideology, and the Congress is committed to upholding its own ideology and will remove the BJP from power.

He accused BJP leaders of drama and of being incapable of replicating Rahul Gandhi’s achievement of undertaking an 800 km yatra, meeting the poor, and caring for them.

Pointing to the Congress party’s good show in the recent Kerala local elections, Kharge shouted slogans of “Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhor” and “Vande Mataram” and said the people have to boldly fight the BJP and each worker of the Congress will join the effort to dislodge the rivals who have come to power through “Vote Chori”.

He said the BJP wants to take away poor people’s right to vote and continue to occupy the seat of power through malpractices.

Kharge said the BJP always alleges that Rahul Gandhi goes abroad after the Parliament session, but PM Modi himself goes on foreign trips when the House is in session, without answering any of the questions raised by the LoP and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

The Congress president also asked party workers not to be scared by probe agencies allegedly unleashed against them.

Kharge said the BJP and RSS never took part in the freedom struggle, and now they are trying to mislead people over Vande Mataram and “friction” between former PM Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

IANS