'BJP-RSS Weaponising Vote Theft To Change Constitution': Rahul's Stinging Attack On Rival Party

By Dev Raj & Raj Kumar Jha

Madhubani/ Patna: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged on Tuesday that ‘vote chori’ (theft of votes) was an attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to change the Constitution. He cautioned the people against allowing such a thing to happen because the right to franchise was the basis of everything in democracy.

“Their (BJP – RSS) top leaders said in the polls (last year’s Lok Sabha elections) that they would change the Constitution. We asked them not to see such dreams because no power can do so. But we did not know they were still busy in it. We had doubts, but had no proof that they were still engaged in their attempt to destroy it by trying to steal votes,” Rahul said.

Speaking at a ‘social dialogue’ at Sijaulia after his Voter Adhikar Yatra rolled from Supaul into Madhubani district, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha asserted that the BJP and RSS understood that the Constitution was the book to take the backwards, EBC (Extremely Backward Castes), Dalits, the poor people belonging to the general castes, and women. They knew that it was the book of their rights.

“The poor people need the vote most, because they have no right without it. The day the right to vote ends, the Constitution will lose its meaning. The Constitution is the power of the soul of Hindustan and that power comes from vote. If vote is taken away, there will be no power or strength left in it,” he added.

Connecting his allegations of the theft of votes and the attempt to change the Constitution could be a masterstroke by the Grand Old Party leader for the forthcoming Bihar Assembly elections. Rahul, his party and the allies had amplified the alleged statements by a few BJP leaders regarding their intention to change the Constitution in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, and hammered them into the psyche of the people.

The result was that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) lost 60 seats in comparison to the 2019 polls and ended up at 293, while the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) led by the Congress, gained 143 seats to win 234 seats, giving up a tough fight despite losing the battle.

Speaking further on the occasion, Rahul, who represents the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituency, asserted that the RSS would gain control of the country’s institutions if the right to vote was taken away and the progress would come to a standstill.

Rahul said that the 50 per cent reservation barrier in the country could not be broken without votes. He also said that a caste census would reveal everything, and the blueprint of its Telangana model implemented by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy was already there.

“Once you lose your vote, your ration card will go and then the house, land and other things. Ambani and Adani come and take farmers’ land. How are they able to fight? It is because of their vote, with which they say we will teach a lesson in the polls,” the Congress leader added.

The Congress leader recounted that Union Home Minister Amit Shah used to tell a couple of years ago that the BJP government would rule for 40 to 50 years.

“I wondered about it because nobody knows what is there in the hearts of people in a democracy. Now I know why he (Amit Shah) used to say so. They have been stealing votes for years. It started from Gujarat and went to the Centre in 2014. It happened in Maharashtra, Haryana and Karnataka. They got caught in Maharashtra, because they stole a bit more by mistake or out of fear,” Rahul said.

"We had swept the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, but lost, along with our allies in the Assembly elections that were held after four months. Our enquiry revealed that a little less than one crore voters were added before the state polls. Our votes did not decrease, but the BJP won wherever new voters were added,” Rahul added.

The 16-day Voter Adhikar Yatra started from Sasaram in Rohtas district on August 17 to protest the alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, including the deletion of over 65 lakh voters. It will cover 1,300 km in Bihar and end on September 1.

However, Rahul has expanded the scope of yatra to include various socio-economic issues pertaining to the common people. Several INDIA alliance leaders also addressed the people at Sijaulia and exhorted the people to come together to protect their right to vote and defeat the NDA in the forthcoming polls.

“These people not only want to take away your votes, but also your existence. These are not just vote thieves, but also reservation thieves. We will not allow the Gujaratis to decide who will be the voters in Bihar,” Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav said on the occasion.

Tejashwi added that if the people installed an INDIA alliance government in the state, it would implement all the recommendations of the Mandal Commission, as only four to five per cent of them have been implemented so far.

Speaking on the occasion, CPIML general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya asked the people to stay alert about the designs to deprive them of their right to franchise. “Over 65 lakh voters have been deleted till now. The Election Commission is now saying that it has not received the required documents of 15 lakh other voters. We will fight at every level and give us a decisive mandate through your votes (in the Assembly polls). Take the message of ‘vote chor, gaddi chhor’ (vote thief, quit the throne).

The yatra halted at a ‘dhaba’ (roadside restaurant) at Phulparas in Madhubani district, where the INDIA leaders, including Rahul and Priyanka, had lunch. “All the leaders were served rice, matar-paneer, potato dishes, dal fry, papad, kachori, salad, sweets and ice-cream,” NSUI Madhubani leader Kaushal Singh Rajput told ETV Bharat.

As the Voter Adhikar Yatra moved through Madhubani in Bihar on Tuesday, covering around 74 kilometres in the district, Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi asserted that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has lost the trust of the people, and was conspiring to steal votes.

Priyanka had arrived in the morning from Delhi with her younger brother and Lok Sabha member from Rae Bareli (Uttar Pradesh), Rahul Gandhi, to join the yatra from Supaul. She will travel to Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur and Sitamarhi on Wednesday before returning.

“The BJP, which has lost the trust of the public, is indulging in conspiracies across the country to steal votes. The BJP – JDU (Janata Dal United) government that has failed on every front, including inflation, unemployment, migration and economic distress, wants to stay in power by stealing the votes of the people,” Priyanka posted on social media platform X while participating in the yatra.

She pointed out that the Constitution has given the right to vote to every Indian, which no power can snatch away. “We will not allow even a single vote of the poor people to be stolen. Jai Samvidhan! (Hail Constitution),” Priyanka added.

Rahul also posted a video of INDIA leaders having lunch in Araria on Sunday and discussing the situation of Bihar and the country. The yatra moved to Darbhanga district in the evening. It will halt for the night at Darbhanga town.