The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday accused prominent opposition leaders of benefitting from large-scale voter registration irregularities in key constituencies, demanding their immediate resignation from Parliament.
Former Union minister Anurag Thakur alleged that Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Abhishek Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav won their seats, Rae Bareli, Wayanad, Diamond Harbour and Kannauj, through “vote chori” (vote theft). Speaking at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, Thakur presented what he described as an analysis of electoral rolls in these constituencies, claiming evidence of fake voters and manipulated records.
He further targeted DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and Samajwadi Party leader Dimple Yadav, alleging irregularities in Kolathur assembly and Mainpuri Lok Sabha seats. “Seeing this ‘shor’ (hue and cry) being made by the opposition, it now seems that ‘chor machaye shor’,” Thakur remarked, accusing the opposition of turning on the Election Commission to shield “their vote bank of illegal Bangladeshi infiltration and other intruders.”
The BJP leader criticised the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party and DMK for opposing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, currently underway in Bihar and set to be extended nationwide. “Rae Bareli, Wayanad, Kannauj, to Diamond Harbour, everywhere one question is coming up, why did they make fake voters? Will they resign for indulging in ‘vote chori’ and protecting intruders?” he asked.
Also read: BJP alleges Congress rigged 1952 poll to defeat Dr Ambedkar
The allegations come in the wake of the Congress’s own offensive against the BJP on voter fraud. Only last week, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi accused the ruling party of “vote chori” in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura assembly segment, claiming over one lakh votes were stolen through duplicate entries, fake addresses and other manipulations.
On Tuesday, opposition MPs staged a march from Parliament to the Election Commission’s headquarters in Delhi to protest alleged electoral fraud, but were stopped and briefly detained by police. The Congress has since released a video purporting to show “fake votes” being cast, with party president Mallikarjun Kharge urging citizens to defend constitutional institutions from “the clutches of the BJP”.
Rahul Gandhi echoed the sentiment on social media, stating: “Aapke vote ki chori aapke adhikar ki chori, aapki pehchaan ki chori hai” (“The theft of your vote is the theft of your rights, the theft of your identity”)
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