Darbhanga (Bihar), Aug 27 (UNI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today said, “The Gujarat model is not based on economics, but on vote theft”, and alleged that the BJP replicated this model across other states.
Accompanied by his sister and MP Priyanka Gandhi, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav and other INDIA bloc leaders, Gandhi addressed a public meeting during his Voter Adhikar Yatra.
Speaking on the occasion, Rahul and other leaders welcomed Stalin for traveling all the way to join the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’.
Rahul said, Stalin’s presence had brought additional strength and energy to the Yatra in Bihar.
He said that the BJP and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been stealing votes for a long time.
Rahul said, the practice of vote theft started from Gujarat and was later implemented nationally.
“The Gujarat model is not based on economics, but on vote theft”, he remarked, while adding, the BJP replicated this model across the country in other states.
The Leader of Opposition said that it is a reality that Narendra Modi was winning elections by stealing votes with the help of the Election Commission.
He said, even in 2019 General Elections, Modi had claimed to win 300 seats while the opinion polls were showing a different picture.
Interestingly, Gandhi pointed out, the BJP ended up securing around 300 seats.
He cited the examples of Maharashtra and Haryana, saying the results were quite contrary to the predictions.
Rahul said, about one crore new voters were added in Maharashtra within four months, all of whom voted for the BJP and its allies.
Reiterating his charge that Modi and Shah were stealing elections in collusion with the Election Commission of India, he pointed out, this was the very reason the BJP government passed a law in 2023 stealthily, granting legal immunity to the Election Commissioners.
“Otherwise, why do the Election Commissioners need such legal protection if they are doing everything right and honestly?” he asked.
Referring to Mahadevapura assembly seat, Rahul said that in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, vote theft took place not just in Bangalore Central seat, but in 70–80 constituencies across the country.
He also revealed that the Congress has started working to expose the frauds taking place in other parts of the country, similar to those in Mahadevapura.
Rahul stressed that Bihar urgently needs jobs, progress and change and stopping voter fraud is the first step towards securing both employment and development.
He reminded the gathering that Bihar has always been the land of revolution, from the Champaran movement against the British to today’s fight against voter theft, and asserted that this movement would spread across India from Bihar.
During the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ which entered the eleventh day today, Rahul, along with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, rode a motorcycle with other INDIA bloc leaders also riding on different bikes.
Rahul has been frequently stopping the vehicle, getting down, meeting the people, talking to them and enquiring about their problems.
Rahul said, he has been overwhelmed by the love and support he has received across Bihar.
“Wherever I go, I feel at home”, he remarked, while adding that the ‘Yatra’ had achieved its desired aim as every soul in Bihar was now convinced that elections were stolen in India.
He noted that even small children, as young as 6-7 years old, have started saying ‘vote chor, gaddi chhor’.
The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister travelled in an open vehicle along with Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav and other INDIA bloc leaders.
Later, addressing a public meeting, Stalin said that the ‘Vote Adhikar Yatra’ had become a powerful source of strength for the people whose names had been deleted from the voter list.
He promised that he will also join the victory procession once the INDIA bloc forms the government after the assembly elections in Bihar.
