New Delhi [India], September 1 : The 'Voter Adhikaar Yatra' that began amid chaos over the allegations of "vote theft" in the assembly elections and alleged disenfranchisement of Bihar voters has come to an end today.
The allegations of discrepancies in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise carried out by the Election Commission (EC) in Bihar ahead of the forthcoming assembly elections were levelled by Leader of Opposition (LoP) Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, who pledged that the opposition would not let votes be stolen.
However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other leaders in the double-engine government of Bihar have lambasted the opposition, accusing them of "destroying" the Constitution and of allegedly distrusting the country's democratic processes.
The Voter Adhikaar Yatra witnessed massive public rallies in several districts of Bihar - from Sasaram to Siwan. It also witnessed clashes between Congress and BJP workers on Friday (August 29).
The BJP racked up another issue, demanding an apology from Rahul Gandhi and his allies over the alleged abuses hurled at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his late mother during a public rally in Darbhanga.
Responding to allegations of the BJP, the INDIA bloc refuted their claims while suggesting that the man who hurled abuses in the rally was associated with the ruling party in the Centre.
Congress's Digvijay Singh and Shiv Sena's UBT MP Sanjay Raut have both claimed that the accused, whom the police have now arrested, was from the BJP. Earlier in the day, Raut claimed that nobody from the opposition was abusing anyone, instead shifting the blame onto the BJP leaders.
"Nobody is abusing anyone. Modi himself started the trend of abusing each other at the national stage in politics. Now, PM Modi and the BJP are scared. Be it Rahul Gandhi or Tejashwi Yadav, show me if anyone abused anyone. I have also followed the Yatra. It is the BJP people who hurl abuses and blame us. It was the BJP workers who entered the crowd," Raut told ANI.
As this happened, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi today told ANI that the slogan "Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhodd" was echoing everywhere. "It has now reached China," he added.
The LoP pledged that the opposition will not let votes be stolen in Bihar ahead of the forthcoming assembly polls, standing firm on his allegations of vote theft. "We pledge - not a single vote will be stolen in Bihar. We will protect democracy and the constitution with all our might," Gandhi posted on X.
Gandhi further extended his gratitude towards prominent opposition leaders from various parties, who are also part of the INDIA bloc, for making the 'Voter Adhikaar Yatra' "historic".
"Heartfelt thanks to Lalu Prasad Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, Dipankar Bhattacharya, Mukesh Sahni, Bihar Congress leadership, the Congress's Babbar Sher, INDIA workers, and the youth of the state for making the Bihar Voter Adhikaar Yatra historic," Gandhi said.
Gandhi 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."
Addressing a rally in Patna today, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge also targeted the double-engine government of the BJP and the Janata Dal United (JDU) in Bihar, and asserted that the Nitish Kumar-led government would be voted out of power within the next 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'.
Meanwhile, Union Textile Minister Giriraj Singh argued that the INDIA bloc will have no standing in Bihar.
"INDI alliance will be cleared out from Bihar because of this Yatra. Most of the people in the Yatra were Muslims because they (oppn) served their mission. They invited Revanth Reddy, who abused Bihar. They invited MK Stalin, who abused Hindus. Will Bihar tolerate this disrespect? Hindus are also more (in population). Tejashwi Yadav will suffer a loss," Singh told ANI.
Union Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy also mocked Rahul Gandhi, saying that the LoP was talking about alleged "vote theft" in the assembly elections, since people have refused to give votes to his party.
"Rahul Gandhi has got scared of the public, and this is the reason he is talking about vote theft. People are not voting for his party. He doesn't have faith in people, elections and democracy. If he has courage, he should go among the public and tell about the work done by his party," Reddy told reporters.
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha, in a veiled attack on Rahul Gandhi and Bihar LoP Tejashwi Yadav, labelled them as "appu" and "pappu", respectively. He accused both opposition leaders of "harming" Sanatani culture and "destroying" democracy.
"Both 'Appu' and 'Pappu', born with a golden spoon, are indulged in the politics of compassion. They respect those who abused Bihar. They are the destroyers of democracy. They also harm our Sanatani culture. They are the biggest dakus (bandits). However, the public will teach them a lesson," the Bihar Deputy CM told reporters.
However, Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor criticised both PM Modi and Rahul Gandhi, saying that they didn't speak about employment opportunities for youth.
"We have no interest in the fight between Rahul Gandhi and PM Modi; we are interested that there should be employment in Bihar and migration from Bihar should stop," Kishor said.
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.