Staff Reporter / Gaya, Bihar
– Escalating his attack on the Election Commission over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday alleged systematic “vote theft” and warned that the INDIA bloc will take strict action against top election officials if it comes to power.
Speaking in Gaya during the second leg of the Voter Adhikar Yatra alongside RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Gandhi accused the poll panel of bias and collusion with the BJP. “They’re asking me to submit an affidavit, even after their ‘vote theft’ has been caught. I want to tell the Election Commission—the whole country will soon ask you for an affidavit,” he declared.
Calling the SIR process a “special package” for Bihar, Gandhi said, “Just like Prime Minister Modi announces special packages, the Election Commission has brought a new one for Bihar—SIR—which is nothing but a new form of vote theft.”
Gandhi didn’t mince words in his criticism of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi. “You’ve joined the BJP, you work for them,” he alleged, backing Tejashwi Yadav’s remarks.
“You may be protected now under Modi ji’s government, but remember this—when INDIA bloc forms the government in Delhi and Bihar, we will act. You have stolen votes from the people of this country,” he warned, asserting that his statements are never empty rhetoric.
His remarks come a day after the CEC issued a seven-day deadline for Gandhi to provide a sworn affidavit to back his claims, failing which the Election Commission would consider the accusations baseless.
Gandhi concluded by saying the people of Bihar will reject any attempt at electoral manipulation, warning that democracy cannot be subverted with impunity.