Ahead of the second phase of polling in the Bihar Assembly elections, Congress General Secretary and MP Priyanka Gandhi launched a sharp attack on the Election Commission and the BJP.
Campaigning in Katihar district, Priyanka Gandhi raised the issue of “vote theft” and alleged that the names of 65 lakh voters have been deleted from the electoral rolls in Bihar. She held Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Vivek Joshi and S.S. Sandhu responsible for it.
Priyanka Gandhi said, “Some people in this country are stealing votes, and they are being helped by three individuals — Gyanesh Kumar, Vivek Joshi, and S.S. Sandhu. These three are top officials of the Election Commission, but they are not fulfilling their constitutional responsibilities. They are taking away your rights and playing with the Constitution and democracy of the country.”
The Congress General Secretary accused the BJP of consistently weakening the Constitution. “They are stealing votes, deleting your names from the voter list. When your vote is taken away, it means your rights are taken away,” she said.
“The Constitution has given the people the right to vote, the power to choose who governs. But when the BJP saw that the people were turning against it, it started stealing votes to weaken those rights,” she reiterated.
She compared the current government to colonial rule, saying, “Earlier, there was the British Empire and its dictatorship. Today, there is Narendra Modi’s empire and his dictatorship. We are fighting for justice on this land, a land soaked with the blood of our ancestors and yours. That blood should not go in vain. So, people of Bihar, rise and raise your voice for your rights.”
Priyanka Gandhi said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not talk about development, employment, or women’s safety. “Instead, he talks about guns, bullets, ransom, extortion, murder, kidnapping, and rivers of blood,” she said.
“Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister of the country, but listen to his language — guns, kidnapping, murder. He is not maintaining the dignity of his office. He has stooped to such a low level. Modi ji, the people of this country have recognised you. The people are no longer being misled by your lies. That is why you have resorted to ‘vote theft,’” she added.
Priyanka Gandhi said that the people of Bihar are ready for a major change. “The hardworking people of this state are about to gain freedom from the misrule of the BJP-JDU government. The INDIA Alliance is going to form the government in Bihar with a huge majority,” she declared.