New Delhi [India], August 11 (ANI): Members of Parliament from the Congress and other opposition parties have submitted motions in both Houses of Parliament, seeking urgent debates on the inclusiveness, fairness, and integrity of the electoral process, while also planning a march to the Election Commission’s office later today.
Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan, representing Supaul, Bihar, in the Rajya Sabha, has given notice under Rule 267 to suspend Zero Hour, Question Hour, and other scheduled business for August 11 to discuss “concerns around the inclusiveness and fairness of our electoral processes.” In her letter to the Secretary-General of the Rajya Sabha, she warned of “serious apprehensions regarding the potential disenfranchisement of marginalised sections of society, who face migration, displacement, and documentation-related vulnerabilities,” stressing that such issues must be addressed to ensure democratic inclusivity.
Similarly, Rajya Sabha MP and All India Congress Committee in-charge for Jammu & Kashmir, Rajani Ashokrao Patil, also wrote to the Secretary-General, calling for the suspension of Zero Hour to deliberate on “the integrity, inclusiveness, and fairness of the electoral process.” She said the House must take steps to uphold universal adult suffrage and protect democratic rights, citing concerns that emerged during the 2024 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections.
Parallel to these moves in the Upper House, Congress MP Manickam Tagore filed an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha to discuss allegations of “vote chori” (vote theft) and electoral fraud in Mahadevapura, Karnataka. Tagore alleged that over 100,000 fraudulent votes were added to the electoral rolls — far exceeding the victory margin in the Bangalore Central Lok Sabha seat — and claimed this was part of a “systematic model” of voter list manipulation being replicated across multiple constituencies. He also raised questions over the neutrality and credibility of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The issue gained further traction after Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi called on the ECI to respond to Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s claims of voter duplication. Addressing reporters, Chaturvedi criticised what she described as the Commission’s “continuous evasion of accountability” and its attempts to “silence the opposition through threats.” She pointed to the addition of 48 lakh voters in Maharashtra between the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, insisting that the ECI must address these discrepancies.
Rahul Gandhi, at a press conference on August 7, alleged that Congress’s internal analysis revealed massive voter list irregularities in Mahadevapura. He claimed the party had investigated seven unexpected Lok Sabha losses in Karnataka and found “vote chori” involving 100,250 votes in Mahadevapura alone, citing cases of duplicate voters, fake or invalid addresses, and multiple voters registered at single locations where residents could not be found.
Opposition MPs from both Houses are scheduled to march from Makar Dwar in Parliament to the Election Commission’s Nirvachan Sadan headquarters at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, proceeding via Transport Bhawan. However, Delhi Police have stated that no permission has yet been sought for the proposed march by the INDIA Bloc.
Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha is set for a busy day with multiple committee reports, ministerial statements, and legislative business on the agenda. Proceedings will begin at 11 a.m. with questions from a separate list, followed by the laying of papers by ministers including Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (Culture), Jayant Chaudhary (Education), Pankaj Chaudhary (Finance), Kirtivardhan Singh (Environment, Forest and Climate Change), and Sukanta Majumdar (Education). (ANI)
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