New Delhi [India], August 8 : The leaders of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc gathered at the residence of the Lok Sabha's Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, on Thursday.
Rahul Gandhi hosted the dinner for the opposition leaders at his residence, and the meeting saw discussion over the Special Intensive Revision in Bihar, Vice Presidential polls, among other key issues.
Terming the meeting as a "successful" one, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal informed that Rahul Gandhi presented the same presentation to the leaders of the opposition, which he did in the press conference earlier in the day over the "vote theft" claim, where he targeted the Election Commission of India and Bharatiya Janata Party.
Venugopal stated that every leader was shocked after Rahul Gandhi's presentation and condemned the way democracy is being killed by the government.
"It was one of the most successful meetings. Leaders of the INDIA alliance participated and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi presented the same presentation that he showed in the press conference today. Everyone was shocked after seeing the presentation. Everyone condemned the way democracy is being killed by them," KC Venugopal told reporters.
The Congress MP demanded a fresh voter list and also informed that RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav discussed about the Bihar Yatra in the meeting.
"We need a clear voter list, digital voter list is the immediate necessity of the nation.Tejashwi Yadav discussed about the Bihar Yatra. He invited all leaders of the alliance to participate in the yatra on September 1", Venugopal said.
Meanwhile, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, JMM MP Mahua Maji, Samajwadi Party MPs Akhilesh Yadav and Dimple Yadav attended the INDIA bloc leaders' meeting in New Delhi.
All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) General Secretary G. Devarajan, who also attended the meeting, slammed the Election Commission of India, stating that whenever questions are raised on the credibility of the electoral body, it suppresses all the details.
"Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi has shown a video presentation about what happened in the last Lok Sabha election, Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections. The way the Election Commission has been treating the political parties is highly condemnable. The Election Commission suppresses all the details whenever questions are raised on its credibility," Devarajan told ANI.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MP Mahua Maji said that discussions were held related to the Bihar assembly elections, Special Intensive Revision and the upcoming Vice Presidential polls.
"We held discussions on various topics like the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections and SIR...There was also discussion on candidates for the elections of Vice-President", Maji told ANI.
Congress MP Francis George slammed the BJP, vowing that they will expose the party in front of the public. He stated that Rahul Gandhi gave a presentation related to widespread rigging of votes during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
"We had a meeting of the INDIA bloc. Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi had made a presentation about the SIR issue in Bihar, highlighting how widespread rigging and malpractices were done during the last Lok Sabha elections and the BJP secured a majority...We will expose the BJP in front of the public," George said.
Rahul Gandhi on Thursday directly challenged the Election Commission of India (ECI), asking, "Why don't you say it's wrong?" as he accused the poll body of "vote theft" in Karnataka's Mahadevapura Assembly constituency.
The poll body, in turn, has asked the Congress leader to submit a signed copy of his complaint and all his objections to initiate necessary proceedings to investigate the matter.
"This is Election Commission data. Interestingly, they haven't denied the information. They haven't told the voter list that Rahul Gandhi is talking about is wrong. Why don't you say it's wrong? Because you know the truth. You know that we know that you have done this across the country," Rahul Gandhi said during a press conference.
Earlier during the conference, he claimed 2024 Lok Sabha elections were "choreographed" by the EC to benefit the BJP, which he said appeared "immune to anti-incumbency."
Citing internal analysis, Gandhi said the Congress expected to win 16 seats in Karnataka but ended up with only nine. He said the Congress investigated seven unexpected losses, zeroing in on Mahadevapura, where he alleged vote theft involving 1,00,250 votes.
Presenting Congress' research on voting in the Mahadevapura Assembly in Karnataka, Rahul Gandhi alleged "vote chori" (vote theft) of 1,00,250 votes.
"Our internal polling told us we would win 16 seats in Karnataka; we won nine. We then focused on seven unexpected losses. We focused on Mahadevapur...All data is 2024 data from the Election Commission; the total votes polled in the Lok Sabha were 6.26 lakhs. The BJP won with 6,58,915, securing a margin of 32,707. But then we look at Mahadevapura, where Congress polls 1,15,586 and BJP polls 2,29,632. Congress wins all Vidhan Sabhas but this one," the Congress leader said.
"We found 1,00,250 votes stolen. Stolen in five different ways. Duplicate voters, fake and invalid addresses, and bulk voters in a single address, on a building with 50-60 people living. But when we go there, no record of those people living there. One family living in that house," he added.
Hitting back at Rahul Gandhi's "vote theft" allegations, BJP MP Sambit Patra launched a scathing attack on Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP), accusing him of "selective outrage" over his recent allegations against the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Reacting to Rahul Gandhi's allegation that elections are "choreographed", Patra said, "Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party never did any press conference on those states where they won the election...The public of the nation is seeing this selective outrage...If the Election Commission of India is compromised, as he says, then how can they celebrate their victory on 99 seats in the Lok Sabha elections...This is the peak of Rahul Gandhi's frustration."
He contrasted Rahul Gandhi's approach with the BJP's conduct during its time in opposition, asserting, "Our party played the role of the opposition party for the longest time, but none of our leaders ever threatened the officials of the Election Commission of India."
Patra also condemned Rahul Gandhi's remarks, suggesting that officials of the ECI would face action if the opposition came to power.
"Rahul Gandhi said that if there is no reply to my press conference, then there will be serious consequences...He said that if the opposition comes to power in the future, then they will take action against each official of the Election Commission of India. Is this a language of LoP?... This is a language of election rage," Patra said.
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar has sparked a political row, with the opposition INDIA bloc alleging that the revision process could lead to the deletion of a large number of voters.