New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday intensified its campaign against alleged “vote chori” (vote theft) by releasing a new video illustrating how fake votes are cast. Party president Mallikarjun Kharge urged citizens to raise their voices and protect constitutional institutions from what he described as the “clutches of the BJP.”
Former party chief Rahul Gandhi shared the one-minute video on social media, saying, “Aapke vote ki chori, aapke adhikar ki chori, aapki pehchaan ki chori hai” (The theft of your vote is the theft of your rights and your identity).
Tagging the advertisement titled “Booth Par Vote Chori”, Kharge appealed, “Do not let your right to vote be snatched away. Ask questions, demand answers! Raise your voice against vote chori. Free constitutional institutions from the grip of the BJP.”
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also posted the video, stating, “The theft of your vote is the theft of your rights, the theft of your identity. Save your right to vote. Raise your voice against vote theft.”
The Congress-produced video depicts a family entering a polling booth only to be told their votes have already been cast. It ends with two men casting fake votes and flashing a thumbs-up to an officer behind a desk labeled “Election Chori Aayog.”
On Tuesday, the party had declared “vote chori” a “do-or-die” issue, unveiling a plan to take its message to the public through various activities, including ‘Loktantra Bachao Mashaal Marches’ on the evening of August 14. The Congress claimed emerging “evidence” suggests this was not just theft but “dacoity.”
The remarks followed a strategy meeting chaired by Kharge and attended by senior leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh, K C Venugopal, Sachin Pilot, Bhanwar Jitendra Singh, Ghulam Ahmad Mir, and treasurer Ajay Maken.
Briefing reporters afterward, Congress leader and AICC in-charge of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) Kanhaiya Kumar said that a “big issue” of vote theft had come to light.
