New Delhi [India], August 20 : Hailing the positive response to his 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in poll-bound Bihar, Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi expressed confidence on Wednesday that the entire country will also be resisting 'election chori' (election theft).
Speaking to reporters at Parliament premises, the Congress leader said, "The response is very good. Everyone is now saying 'vote chori' in Bihar. This is reality. Attempt of 'election chori' is being made. Bihar is resisting. The entire country will resist."
The Congress leader also congratulated and shook hands BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy on winning the Constitution Club of India elections recently.
The 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' began on Sunday from Sasaram. The 16-day yatra has been organised to protest against the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in Bihar and alleged 'vote chori'. On the second day, Gandhi reached Aurangabad along with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav. On August 19 (Tuesday), Gandhi, along with Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Dipankar Bhattacharya took the rally to Bihar's Newada.
The yatra will cover more than 1,300 km across over 20 districts and conclude in Patna on September 1.
Notably, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia hit out at the Congress leader for running a "jhooth ki dukaan" (shop of lies) as the Congress MP leads the 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in poll-bound Bihar. Bhatia further questioned whether Gandhi would apologise to the nation for spreading "falsehoods".
At a BJP press conference here, Bhatia referred to a petition rejected by the Supreme Court on August 18, alleging discrepancies in the Maharashtra Assembly elections held in November 2024.
"Yesterday, the Supreme Court dismissed a petition challenging the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections over alleged bogus voting. The court stated, 'There is no tangible material before us that states there was bogus voting.' Additionally, the court noted that this was a misuse of the legal process," he said.
He also responded to the Congress's claims of discrepancies in the Maharashtra voters' data, claiming that "baseless questions were raised on the Election Commission".
Echoing similar concerns, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad accused the Congress party of wanting infiltrators and deceased people to remain on the voter list.
Prasad told ANI, "What do they want- that infiltrators be made voters? Should those who have died be kept as voters? Should those listed in two places be kept as voters? What do they want? They have not been able to clarify their stand so far."