Patna (Bihar) [India], September 1 : Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday launched a scathing attack on the double-engine government of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal United (JDU) in Bihar, and asserted that the Nitish Kumar-led government would be voted out of power in the coming six months.
"This double-engine government will not be there in the next 6 months. The government that will come will be of the poor, of poor women, of Dalits and backward classes," Kharge said while addressing a rally on the last day of 'Voter Adhikaar Yatra' here.
Kharge also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of trying to win the upcoming Bihar assembly election through "vote theft". He also urged the people to stay alert to protect their voting rights, otherwise "Modi and Amit Shah will drown you."
"PM Modi has a habit of stealing. He steals votes, steals money. And they (BJP) take care of people who fled India after looting the country's banks," Kharge said, adding, "Modi is trying to win in the Bihar election through vote theft. You should stay alert. If you don't stay alert, Modi and Shah will drown you."
"Baba Saheb Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Mahatma Gandhi brought the right to vote to the country after Independence. We should not lose that right, so we have to fight hard. We have to eliminate the threat to our voting rights," he said.
Leader of Opposition (LoP) Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also took a swipe at PM Modi over his visit to China. Raising the slogan, "Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhodh," Gandhi said that it was not limited to India and had also reached Beijing.
While addressing the gathering in Patna, Gandhi earlier in the day warned the BJP of an impending expose. Referring to his allegations of vote theft, the LoP Lok Sabha stated that he would soon unleash a "hydrogen bomb," implying that highlighting the alleged irregularities regarding the Mahadevpura assembly constituency was just an "atom bomb."
Meanwhile, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad today targeted Rahul Gandhi and opposition parties, alleging that their repeated demands for ballot papers stem from their frustration over the end of booth capturing in Bihar.
The BJP has been targeting the opposition over alleged abuses hurled at PM Modi. On the other hand, the opposition has refuted such claims, arguing that the ruling party in the centre is raising these issues to distract from important ones.
The 16-day yatra, undertaken by Rahul Gandhi to highlight allegations of 'vote chori' (vote theft) by the BJP and the alleged irregularities in the revised voter list by the Election Commission of India (ECI), has concluded in Patna today.
The rally began on August 18, with Rahul Gandhi and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav riding together in Sasaram. From there, the rally spanned across 25 districts, to Aurangabad, Gayaji, Siwan, and others.
Multiple other INDIA bloc leaders have attended the yatra at various points. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, CPI(ML) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi, and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin have joined the rally.
Other chief ministers, including Karnataka Chief Minister Siddharamaiah, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu, and Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, participated in the yatra.