Leader of the Opposition and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of attempting to "steal" the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections in the same manner it allegedly did in Maharashtra last year, asserting that the Congress and its INDIA bloc allies would not allow a repeat of what he termed a democratic subversion.
Addressing a large gathering at the ‘Samvidhan Bachao Samavesh’ (Save Constitution rally) in Bhubaneswar, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha launched a sharp attack on the BJP, the Election Commission of India (ECI), and corporate concentration of power, accusing the ruling party of dismantling constitutional values and manipulating institutions to serve a handful of industrialists.
“Like Maharashtra, attempts are being made to steal the elections in Bihar. The BJP is attacking our Constitution across the country,” Gandhi declared. “At a meeting yesterday, the INDIA bloc decided to prevent the BJP and ECI from stealing the elections in Bihar.”
He alleged that one crore names were mysteriously added to the voters' list before the Maharashtra elections, a development the Congress had raised objections to, but which the ECI had failed to address. “We wanted to know how one crore voters were added to the list ahead of the Maharashtra elections. But the ECI has no reply,” he said.
Describing the ECI as “working for the interest of the BJP”, Gandhi accused it of failing in its constitutional duty. He also alleged that a “Maharashtra-like conspiracy” was now underway in Bihar, where Assembly polls are scheduled later this year.
Turning his attention to economic inequality and corporate capture, Gandhi said, “Nowhere in the Constitution it is written that the country belongs to Adani, Ambani or billionaires only, but the present government is doing everything for 5–6 capitalists at the cost of common people.”
He claimed that Lord Jagannath’s Rath Yatra in Puri was delayed to accommodate Gautam Adani and his family, symbolising the extent to which the state machinery was allegedly being bent in favour of a few business tycoons.
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Gandhi lashed out at the Odisha government for failing to implement the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 and for transferring tribal land to corporations. “The government here takes your wealth, your forests, and your land from you 24 hours a day. It displaces you from your land, does not provide proper compensation, and intimidates and threatens you,” he said.
He pledged that the Congress would uphold forest rights and tribal welfare. “The Congress has brought the PESA and Tribal Bill and the party will enforce these laws and ensure that tribals get their land.”
He also alleged that forest rights pattas were not being distributed to eligible tribal families and that Odisha’s ‘Jal, Jangal, Jamin’ (water, forest, land) were being stripped away from their rightful owners.
Voicing concern over women's safety in the state, Gandhi claimed that more than 40,000 women had gone missing from Odisha, with no accountability. “Around 15 women are being raped in Odisha every day, but the government is simply watching,” he said.
He cited the example of Telangana, where a caste-based census had been completed under a Congress-led government, and called for a similar exercise in Odisha to ensure fair and inclusive governance.
Referring to the drivers’ union strike that coincided with the rally, Gandhi alleged sabotage. “The BJP put pressure on the drivers’ union to hinder our rally. However, we prevailed as the union agreed to pause their strike for a day,” he claimed, urging the state government to meet the drivers’ demands in full.
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