Madhya Pradesh: Cong to stage protest to back Rahul's 'vote theft' claims

Bhopal, Aug 11 (IANS) Amid the ongoing controversy over 'vote theft' allegations by the Opposition, the Madhya Pradesh Congress has decided to stage a protest in Rewa district on Tuesday.

State unit Congress chief Jitu Patwari said that Congress MP and LoP Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has presented all facts and exposed gross 'irregularities' in voter list, and he was demanding an explanation from the Election Commission of India (ECI).

"However, when Rahul Gandhi and MPs from other Opposition bloc tried to reach ECI in New Delhi, they were detained by police. If the election commission have done nothing wrong, then why it failed to reply and why MPs from Opposition bloc were detained," Patwari asked.

Patwari said that Rahul Gandhi has also raised his doubt on "fairness" in Madhya Pradesh State Assembly elections held in 2023.

Citing the Election Commission’s data, especially about 8 to 10 per cent suspected fake voters, Patwari said that Assembly elections in November 2023 were conducted based on the same voter list.

"Rahul Gandhi is fighting to protect the constitution and the rights of every citizen of this country. To strengthen his voice stronger, MP Congress will stage a peaceful protest in Rewa on Tuesday," Patwari told media persons on Monday.

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the State Assembly Umang Singhar reiterated Rahul Gandhi's allegations that "ECI is colluding with ruling BJP", said that the arrest of over 300 MPs from the Opposition bloc would be remembered as a "black day" in Indian democracy.

Several Opposition leaders were detained in Delhi on Monday as they shouted slogans, jumped barricades, and marched to the Election Commission in a rare public protest against what they say are electoral malpractices.

Around 300 Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi of the main opposition Congress party, marched from parliament to the office of the independent election panel but were stopped by police some distance away.

The protesters shouted slogans against the panel and Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government, saying elections were being "stolen", and tried to push past barricades before being detained and taken away in buses. This fight is not political. This fight is to save the constitution," Rahul Gandhi told reporters.

"We want a clean, pure voters' list."

Rahul Gandhi and Congress have alleged that voters' lists in states where the party lost are corrupted, with voters' names deleted or included more than once to rig elections in favour of Bharatiya Janata Party.

Opposition parties have also criticised the election panel's decision to revise the voters' list in the key northern state of Bihar just before state elections due later this year, saying it aims to disenfranchise large numbers of poor voters. The commission has said that changes in voters' lists are shared with political parties and all complaints are investigated thoroughly. It has also said that voters' lists need to be revised to remove dead voters or those who have relocated to other parts of the country, among others.

--IANS

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