SASARAM, August 17: The Congress party claimed that the Voter Rights Yatra launched today under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi will trigger a political shift in Bihar and beyond.
According to the party, the massive crowds gathered to hear Rahul Gandhi reflects growing anger against the BJP-led NDA government, which it accused of “stealing votes.”
Speaking at the 208th edition of the party’s Weekly Speak Up programme, All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary and Bihar co-in-charge Shahnawaz Alam said the yatra’s impact will not remain confined to Bihar but will spread nationwide.
He alleged that the BJP, RSS, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and the Election Commission are working in tandem, but will not withstand the political storm generated by the campaign.
Alam alleged that the RSS has historically opposed voting rights for Dalits, backward communities, women, and Adivasis, while supporting the privileges of the wealthy and upper castes. He further claimed that leaders like Hedgewar and Savarkar opposed voting rights for Muslims.
“Today, acting at the behest of the BJP government, the Election Commission is deliberately removing names from voter lists, targeting these very communities,” Alam alleged.
He said Bihar’s Special Summary Revision (SIR) exercise was, in reality, a conspiracy to disenfranchise marginalized groups, who traditionally vote against the BJP. “If a caste-wise enumeration of the 6.5 million voters excluded from the rolls is carried out, 90 percent of them will be found to belong to poor and weaker sections,” Alam asserted.
The Congress leader also criticized the Election Commission, saying that while it held a press conference under pressure from Rahul Gandhi’s repeated questions, it failed to address allegations of voter list manipulation. “This has brought the credibility of the Election Commission to its lowest point,” he said.
