Rahul Gandhi renews ‘vote chori’ charge during Germany visit, claims ‘full-scale assault’ on India’s institutions

Berlin: Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has once again mounted a sharp attack on the BJP, reiterating allegations of ‘vote chori’ and claiming that India is witnessing a “full-scale assault on the institutional framework” of the country.

Addressing a gathering at the Hertie School in Berlin, Germany, on the theme ‘Politics Is The Art Of Listening’, Gandhi said the Haryana Assembly elections in 2024 and the Maharashtra Assembly elections in 2024 “were not fair”.

He alleged that the Congress party had formally raised concerns with the Election Commission of India, but did not receive any response.

“We fundamentally believe that there is a problem with the electoral machinery in India. The second thing is that there is a wholesale capture of our institutional framework,” Gandhi said.

He alleged that key institutions had been compromised, adding, “When you look at our intelligence agencies, you look at the CBI, you look at the ED, they’ve been weaponised.”

Pointing to what he described as selective action by central agencies, Gandhi said, “Look at the number of cases that the ED and the CBI have against the BJP people. You’ll find the answer is zero. And look at the number of cases they have against people who oppose them.”

According to Gandhi, this has created an atmosphere where institutions are no longer performing their mandated roles.

“From our perspective, the Congress perspective, we helped build the institutional framework. So we never viewed it as our own institutional framework. That’s not how the BJP sees it,” he said.

He alleged that the ruling party considers institutions as instruments of political power.

“The BJP views the institutional framework of India as belonging to them. And so they use it as a tool for building political power. Just look at the difference between how much money the BJP has and how much the opposition has. You’ll see a ratio of 30:1,” he said.

Gandhi said the Opposition must actively devise ways to respond to what he described as systemic challenges.

“It’s not good enough for us to say, ‘Oh, you know, there’s a problem in the elections.’ We will deal with it. And we will create a method, a system of opposition resistance that will succeed,” he added.

Responding to a question on the INDIA bloc, Gandhi said alliances are often viewed only through the prism of elections. He urged a broader understanding of the grouping.

“Look at it slightly differently. All the parties of the INDIA bloc do not agree with the basic ideology of the RSS. That’s the point. And you can ask any of them. None of them will tell you that actually we believe in the ideological position of the RSS,” he said.

He acknowledged that differences exist among alliance partners but stressed that unity prevails when it matters.

“So we are very much united on that question. But we have tactical contests that take place, and we will continue to have them,” Gandhi said.

“But you will see that when it comes to the Opposition requiring unity, and you see it every day in Parliament, for example, we are very united. And we will contest the BJP on the laws we disagree with. It’s a deeper battle now than simply elections. Now we are fighting a battle for an alternate vision of India,” he added.

Citing recent electoral victories, Gandhi said, “We have won elections in Telangana, Himachal Pradesh. We have been raising issues as far as the fairness of elections in India is concerned.”

He claimed that the Congress party had presented evidence to back its claims.

“I have done press conferences in India where we have clearly shown without a shadow of a doubt that we won the Haryana election and that we don’t feel the Maharashtra elections were fair,” Gandhi said.

Reiterating his allegations against the Election Commission, Gandhi said, “There is a full-scale assault taking place on the institutional framework of our country. We asked direct questions to the Election Commission. A Brazilian woman was on the voting list 22 times in Haryana… We did not get a response.”

“We fundamentally believe that there is a problem with the electoral machinery in India,” he added.

IANS