SIR is BJP’s new tool for ‘vote theft’, will defend one person one vote principle: Rahul Gandhi
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Aurangabad: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday alleged that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is the BJP’s “new weapon” for “vote chori” (vote theft) and vowed to safeguard the principle of ‘one person, one vote’.
In a post on his WhatsApp channel, Gandhi referred to his meeting with a group of people in Sasaram on Sunday during the launch of his Voter Adhikar Yatra. He claimed the group had voted in the last Lok Sabha election but later found their names missing from the rolls during the SIR exercise in Bihar.
“SIR is a new weapon of vote theft. Coincidentally, these people standing with me in this picture are ‘living’ proof of this theft. All of them had cast their vote in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections – but by the time Bihar assembly elections came, their identity, their existence was erased from the democracy of India,” Gandhi said.
He listed the names of those affected, including retired soldier Raj Mohan Singh and labourers from Dalit, backward and minority communities, saying the deletions reflected discrimination against the poor and marginalized.
The collusion of the BJP and the Election Commission is punishing them for being Bahujan and poor, even our soldiers were not spared. Neither will they have a vote, nor identity or rights, he alleged.
Gandhi said that due to social and economic vulnerability, those affected were unable to resist the “conspiracy of the system”. We stand with them to protect the most basic right of one person, one vote. This is a question of rights and of everyone’s participation in a democracy, and “we will not let it end under any circumstances,” he said.
On Monday, Gandhi along with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and Vikassheel Insan Party chief Mukesh Sahani prayed at the Devkund Surya Mandir as the Voter Adhikar Yatra entered its second day. The Yatra, which began from Sasaram on Sunday, is expected to cover 1,300 km across Bihar before concluding in Patna on September 1.
The Congress leader has accused the Election Commission of colluding with the BJP to manipulate elections and warned that the INDIA bloc would resist any attempt to “steal” the upcoming Bihar polls through SIR.
The Yatra is being conducted in hybrid mode, partly on foot and partly by vehicle, and will pass through Aurangabad, Gaya, Nawada, Nalanda, Sheikhpura, Lakhisarai, Munger, Bhagalpur, Katihar, Purnea, Araria, Supaul, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Sitamarhi, East Champaran, West Champaran, Gopalganj, Siwan, Chhapra and Ara.