A day after the Congress party’s massive ‘Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod’ rally at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday appeared to have distanced his party from the issue of “vote theft”, which is being aggressively pushed by the grand old party.
Despite his party, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (J&KNC), being a part of the Congress-led INDIA bloc, Abdullah clarified that the Opposition alliance has nothing to do with the issues of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) or “vote theft”.
“The INDIA alliance has nothing to do with it. Every political party has the freedom to set its political agenda. Congress has made SIR, vote chori as its main political issue…We will choose our issues,” the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister told reporters in Srinagar.
The Congress has been prominently raising the issue of the “vote theft” in elections. Its leader, Rahul Gandhi, has addressed three major press conferences, sharing purported evidence in a bid to prove his “vote chori” charge.
Similarly, the Congress has also raised objections over the hasty SIR exercise, alleging that it is a BJP attempt to influence the electoral rolls and remove Dalit and backward-class voters.
Earlier on Sunday, Rahul Gandhi launched a blistering attack on the BJP-led central government and the Election Commission of India, asserting that a future Congress government would amend the new law that he claims grants immunity to the Chief Election Commissioner and would take action against them “if required.”
He accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of introducing the law and alleged that the Election Commission was operating “in tandem with the BJP government” in what he described as a battle between “truth and untruth.” Concluding his address, Gandhi declared, “It may take time, but truth will ultimately win. We will work with truth and non-violence to defeat Modi and Shah,” while cautioning the poll body to be the country’s Election Commission, “not Modi’s EC.”
The rally, attended by thousands of party workers and leaders, saw the Congress leadership intensify its campaign against what it described as the systematic weakening of democratic institutions and electoral processes.
However, Abdullah’s remarks distancing the INDIA bloc from these issues show differing priorities within the Opposition’s alliance.