PATNA: Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Sunday accused the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering (BJP) of undermining the Structure and resorting to electoral malpractices to safe victories whereas launching a 16-day “Voter Adhikar Yatra” at Saura airfield floor in Bihar’s Rohtas.
“The BJP employs doubtful strategies, together with voter suppression and manipulation of voter lists by means of the Particular Intensive Revision (SIR) course of, to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands. The Structure is underneath risk. The one energy the poor have is their vote, and even that’s being stolen,” the chief of Opposition in Lok Sabha stated, urging the general public to unite towards such techniques.
The yatra, participated by outstanding leaders of the Indian Nationwide Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc leaders, together with RJD chief Lalu Prasad, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, chief of opposition within the Bihar meeting Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and Communist Social gathering of India (Marixist-Leninist) Liberation chief Dipankar Bhattacharya,
Geared toward elevating public consciousness about alleged electoral malpractices and defending voters’ rights forward of the 2025 Bihar Meeting elections, it would cowl round 1,300 km throughout 25 districts and culminate in Patna on September 1.
Addressing the gathering, Rahul Gandhi cited cases of alleged voter fraud, claiming that in Maharashtra, 1 crore new voters have been added to learn the BJP, and in Karnataka, investigations revealed over 1 lakh votes have been manipulated in a single constituency. He underlined the necessity for a caste census and the removing of the 50% reservation cap, promising {that a} Congress-led authorities would implement these measures to make sure justice for marginalised communities.
He described the yatra as a “struggle to save lots of democracy” and a motion to safeguard constitutional values and urged the folks to guard their voting rights. “This isn’t simply an election battle; it’s a battle to protect the soul of India,” he stated.
RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, addressing the gang, echoed Gandhi’s issues about electoral integrity, accusing the ruling Nationwide Democratic Alliance (NDA) of orchestrating voter suppression by means of the SIR course of, which he claimed might disenfranchise 65 lakh voters in Bihar. “We now have made sacrifices for democracy, and this yatra will flag off a motion akin to a second freedom battle,” Lalu stated.
He urged supporters to make sure that each eligible voter is registered and shielded from exclusion.
Congress chief Kharge accused the Election Fee of India (ECI) of failing to deal with discrepancies in voter information regardless of accessing all information. “The Fee asks us for affidavits whereas the info lies with them. This can be a deliberate try and defend wrongdoers,” he stated, reinforcing the necessity for transparency in electoral processes.
He known as the yatra a “historic struggle” to guard the democratic rights of peculiar residents. Kharge additionally launched a scathing assault on the BJP and RSS, accusing them of distorting India’s historical past and freedom battle. He challenged them to call a single particular person from the RSS or Hindu Mahasabha who made important contributions to the nation’s struggle for independence, asserting that their function was negligible in comparison with the Congress occasion’s sacrifices.
Kharge emphasised that the Congress has traditionally fought for unity and the rights of all residents, whereas alleging that the BJP-RSS narrative seeks to undermine the legacy of India’s freedom motion for political acquire.
RJD chief Tejashwi Yadav targeted on mobilising youth and marginalised communities, emphasising the yatra’s function in uniting the Opposition towards the BJP’s alleged authoritarian techniques. “This can be a struggle for the poor, the Dalits, and the backward lessons whose voices are being silenced. We is not going to let their votes be stolen,” he stated, promising to amplify the issues of Bihar’s underprivileged by means of the INDIA alliance.
The launch of the Voter Adhikar Yatra in Sasaram has set the stage for a high-stakes political battle in Bihar, which gears up for the 2025 Meeting elections. By specializing in voter suppression and constitutional threats, the Opposition goals to provoke its base, notably amongst marginalised communities, Dalits, and backward lessons, who kind a considerable portion of Bihar’s voters. The yatra’s emphasis on caste census and reservation reforms faucets into long-standing calls for within the state, probably consolidating the RJD-Congress vote financial institution.
