New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said his party stands with “satya (truth)” and vowed to remove the “Narendra Modi-RSS government”.
Addressing the party’s ‘Vote Chor Gaddi Chhod’ rally at the Ramlila Maidan here, he launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission and mentioned the names of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi to allege that they were working for the BJP.
“We will stand with ‘satya’ (truth) and will remove the Narendra Modi-RSS government from power. They have ‘satta’ (power), and they indulge in ‘vote chori’,” the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.
Gandhi claimed that the BJP transferred Rs 10,000 during elections, but the poll panel did not take any action against them. “In this fight between truth and untruth, the Election Commission is working with the BJP government,” he said.
“(Prime Minister Narendra) Modi brought a new law to give immunity to EC; we will change this law retroactively and act against election commissioners,” Gandhi said.
Asserting that it may take time, but truth will ultimately win, he said, “We’ll work with truth and non-violence to defeat Modi and (Amit) Shah.”
In his address to the rally, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, said those indulging in “vote chori” are “gaddars” and need to be removed from power to save the voting right and the Constitution.
Kharge said it is the duty of all Indians to unitedly strengthen Congress ideology as “only this party can save the country”. He alleged that the RSS ideology will “finish the nation”.
“The BJP people are ‘gaddars’ (traitors) and ‘dramebaaz’ (indulge in theatrics). They need to be removed from power,” Kharge said.
The Congress president also said that he did not go for his son’s operation in Bengaluru and stayed to attend the rally as he thought it was important “to save 140 crore people”.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said every step of the poll process arouses suspicion and asserted that the chief election commissioner and the two election commissioners must answer how they “conspired” to take away people’s voting rights.
She said Indians must rise when the country’s institutions are being crushed.
She also named Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, and said the BJP will not be able to save them, as one day they will be forced to answer for “conspiring” to take away people’s vote.
“I challenge the BJP to contest polls on the ballot paper. They know they will never win,” the Congress general secretary said.
“You should not lose heart over losing Bihar, the entire country knows BJP wins through ‘vote chori’,” she said.
The party leader said the Election Commission turned a blind eye to Rs 10,000 paid to each woman in Bihar during the Model Code of Conduct. “If this is not ‘vote chori’, then what is?”
She said elections are not being conducted fairly, and every step of the poll process arouses suspicion.
All institutions in the country are being made to bend before the government, she said, attacking the Narendra Modi-led Centre.
