'Fight to protect one person, one vote': Rahul to embark on 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' from Bihar's Sasaram
Sasaram (Bihar) | Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will embark on a 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' across Bihar from here on Sunday, with his party asserting it will fight for the "one person, one vote" principle and not accept the Election Commission becoming a "compartment" of the BJP's "so-called double engine".
The leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, along with RJD's Tejashwi Yadav and other Mahagathbandhan leaders, will undertake the 16-day and 1,300 km-long yatra from Sasaram, which will conclude with a rally in Patna on September 1.
In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said, "16 days, 20+ districts, 1,300+ km. We are coming among the people with the Voter Adhikar Yatra. This is a fight to protect the most basic democratic right - 'one person, one vote'."
"Join us in Bihar to save the Constitution," he added.
Addressing a press conference at the Indira Bhawan in New Delhi, Congress' media and publicity department head, Pawan Khera, said, "Whenever Rahul Gandhi ji has set out for a yatra, the democracy of this country has turned a page. 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' will be a historic march. It will prove to be a milestone in the history of our democracy.
"We will not accept that the Election Commission becomes a compartment of this so-called 'double engine'. We are fighting against this and will continue to do so in the future," he added.
The party has been protesting against the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging the EC's exercise is aimed at "disenfranchising voters" in Bihar ahead of the Assembly elections due later this year.
The Congress urged the people of Bihar to join the 'yatra' for their rights and entitlements so that democracy can get a direction from Bihar.
"The yatra, starting in Bihar from August 17, is a journey to make people aware because the conspirators will not be deterred and they will try to steal votes," Khera said. "The yatra will conclude with a huge rally in Patna on September 1, and the people of the INDIA bloc will participate in it," he added.
He added that the 'yatra' has been planned to fight for the right of 'one person-one vote'. "It is possible to breathe freely in independent India because we have the power to vote. Rahul Gandhi has started a struggle so that every citizen of the country can breathe freely," Khera said.
"The way the game of adding and deducting fake votes was going on, the BJP people have been caught red-handed," he claimed, adding that "now, even ordinary citizens are giving evidence of vote theft. When our INDIA bloc colleagues and social workers appealed together, the Supreme Court also had to intervene."
"This conspiracy was not just to snatch votes. It was a conspiracy to snatch your and our identity. Today, the right to vote is being snatched from the Dalits, the deprived, the oppressed, the exploited, the minorities; tomorrow their participation will be snatched," Khera alleged.
He claimed that a conspiracy was being hatched to attack the poor, against which the people of the country have raised their voice.
The 'yatra' will pass through Aurangabad, Gaya, Nawada, Nalanda, Sheikhpura, Lakhisarai, Munger, Bhagalpur, Katihar, Purnea, Araria, Supaul, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Sitamarhi, East Champaran, West Champaran, Gopalganj, Siwan, Chapra and Ara.
At a press briefing in Patna, Congress MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh said that when the Election Commission announced the SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar, the leaders of the INDIA bloc went to meet poll panel officials, who had stated that 20 per cent of the voters in Bihar would lose their franchise.
"We demanded a discussion on this issue in the House, but the BJP government did not consider it necessary. When the new draft list came out after SIR in Bihar, many irregularities were revealed. When we are asking for answers on this, the BLO (block-level officer) has no answer," he claimed.
"In such a situation, we have decided that the Congress will start a 'Voter Awareness Campaign'. In this, we will go to all districts of Bihar and make people aware, so that they are not deprived of their rights," Singh said.
He also said that Rahul Gandhi is fighting to save the Constitution. "Rahul Gandhi is the voice of the poor, deprived, women, farmers, and labourers of the country. We request the people of Bihar to take part in this journey and help us in foiling the plans of the Election Commission-BJP," Singh added.
Gandhi on Thursday said, "We are waging a direct fight against 'vote chori' from Bihar with the 'Voter Adhikar Yatra." He asserted that his party will ensure a clean voters' list across the country.
"'Vote chori' is not just an election issue but a decisive battle to protect democracy, the Constitution and the principle of 'one man, one vote'," he had said.
The Congress on Tuesday claimed that "vote chori" was a "do-or-die" issue for it, and announced a roadmap to take its allegations to the people through various activities.
