Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], November 20 : The Himachal Pradesh Youth Congress on Thursday held a 'Raj Bhawan Gherao' protest march from the Congress headquarters in Shimla to the Raj Bhawan, alleging large-scale "vote chori" (vote theft) across the country. The protesters also burned an effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the demonstration.
National Youth Congress General Secretary and Himachal Pradesh in-charge Shesh Narayan Ojha, who led the march, accused the Election Commission of acting as an extension of the ruling party.
"The Election Commission has completely become the pitbull of the RSS and the BJP. Despite raising the matter in three states, despite Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi repeatedly asking questions through press conferences and demonstrations, the Election Commission has not responded even once. Should this be considered theft or arrogance? Have you accepted slavery to the RSS and BJP?" he said.
Ojha further alleged that the Commission had failed to act on multiple complaints. "We want to tell the Election Commissioner, open your ears. The youth of this country is already on the streets. It won't take long before they reach your doorstep. This is India. Even the British, with all their wealth, could not stay. What will you do by becoming slaves of these 'new black British'?" he alleged.
He said the Youth Congress delegation wanted to meet the Governor to submit a memorandum, but was informed that he was unavailable. "If he comes, fine; if not, we will wait. Congress will continue to fight this vote theft on the streets. The kind of brokerage being done by the Election Commission for the BJP and RSS will have to be answered," he added.
Himachal Pradesh Youth Congress president Chhatar Singh Thakur said the "vote theft issue" has become a pressing public concern. "This public outrage is over the most burning issue, vote theft. I accuse Himachal BJP President Dr. Rajeev Bindal of registering his daughter's name in two different places under two different parental names. This is shameful," he said.
He also alleged widespread irregularities across states. "Whether it is Karnataka, Maharashtra or Haryana, a Brazilian model, an actress, is shown voting in 22 different constituencies. This kind of ghost voting is an attack on the limits of democracy. All constitutional institutions and those who believe in the Constitution feel that it is being exploited," Thakur said.
Thakur reiterated the allegation against Dr Bindal. "I have cited an example from Himachal too. Dr. Rajeev Bindal, who is already known for the PPE kit scam during COVID, has even registered his daughter in two places, once as Rajeev Bindal's daughter and once as Ram Avtar Bindal's daughter. Nothing can be more shameful," he added.
He said the Youth Congress was raising concerns based on official data. "This data is not from the Youth Congress; this is Election Commission data that we are sharing with you. After our earlier signature campaign and press conference, today's protest was another step. We wanted to submit a memorandum through the Governor so it could reach the President, but he was unavailable. We will act as per further directions from our central leadership," he said.
"We aim to alert voters from the district to the booth level. In the coming times, if the opposition itself does not survive in this democracy, nothing will remain meaningful," Thakur added.
The Youth Congress said the agitation will intensify if the Election Commission fails to address what they allege is "systematic voter fraud" enabled by the BJP and its affiliates.