Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], August 13 (ANI): Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel on Wednesday said the Election Commission has not answered any of the questions posed by Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi regarding alleged “voter theft” during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Speaking to the media, Baghel emphasized that answers to these questions hold the “essence of democracy.” He recalled that when opposition MPs were marching toward the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday, they were detained by Delhi Police midway.
“Lok Sabha MPs marched toward the Election Commission; more than 250 MPs were heading to the Commission’s office, but Delhi Police stopped them midway. The questions Rahul Gandhi asked the Election Commission have not been answered to date, and the answers to these questions hold the essence of democracy,” Baghel said.
On the aim of the protest, Baghel linked it to preventing electoral malpractice and announced Gandhi’s political plans in Bihar.
“If we want to save democracy, we must stop vote theft, which is why all MPs raised the slogan ‘Vote Chor Gaddi Chhod,’ and this slogan has now reached the public. In this regard, Rahul Gandhi will undertake a 15-day padyatra in Bihar starting from August 17, and a large rally will be held at Gandhi Maidan on September 1, where all leaders of the INDIA alliance will be present,” he said.
Baghel was referencing the protest held by INDIA bloc leaders on Monday, when Congress MPs marched from Parliament to the ECI to protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar and allegations of “voter fraud” during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
On Tuesday, Congress MP KC Venugopal announced that the party will hold a “Vote chor, gaddi chhodd” rally at 8 p.m. on August 14 in all districts across the country.
The announcement came after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge chaired a meeting of General Secretaries and In-Charges at the party headquarters in New Delhi earlier in the day.
Venugopal said the Congress party will also launch a nationwide signature campaign from September 15 to October 16, aiming to collect five crore signatures to be submitted to the Election Commission of India.
“On August 14, we will do a night march all over India — a district-level night march. ‘Vote chor, gaddi chhodd’ rally at 8 p.m. on August 14 in all districts. Then from August 21 to September 7, we will do state-level ‘Vote chor, gaddi chhodd’ rallies. From September 15 to October 15, a massive signature campaign will take place with the same slogan. We will submit five crore signatures to the EC,” Venugopal told ANI.
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