‘BJP ko bhagaiye, hume jitaiye': Lalu Yadav claims Modi govt 'stealing votes' at Bihar rally
"Choro ko hataiye, BJP ko bhagaiye, aur hume jitaiye, (Remove the thieves, make the BJP run away, help us win)," Lalu Yadav was quoted as saying during the 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar's Sasaram.
During his speech, the RJD leader urged Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi to present a united front to 'uproot the BJP and throw them away.'
"At any cost, do not let the BJP, which is a thief, come to power. Everyone, stand united, and together, Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi Yadav, uproot them and throw them away. Save democracy," Yadav added.
RJD's Tejashwi Yadav also accused the Election Commission and PM Narendra Modi of trying to deceive the people of Bihar.
"Narendra Modi is dead set on destroying the lives of the youth of Bihar. Modi makes the illiterate clap for him and does politics. But we engage in the politics of distributing work to everyone's hands. Today, that is why we are here. Election Commission, Modi Bihario ko choona lagana chahate hai (want to scam the people of Bihar). Do not think of Biharis as weak," said Tejaswhi.
Congress kicks off 'Voter Adhikar Yatra'
Congress party kicked off its 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar against the alleged 'vote chori' which Opposition parties have accused the Election Commission and the BJP of perpetrating.
At the rally, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi vowed to expose any theft of votes, whether it happens in Maharashtra, Bihar, or elsewhere in the future.
Gandhi further Bihar's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) as a "conspiracy" hatched by the Election Commission.
Shortly after the Congress yatra kicked off, the Election Commission of India held a press conference on Sunday addressing the Bihar SIR and vote theft row.
During his, CEC Gyanesh Kumar called for any issues regarding errors in electoral rolls to be raised during the "Claims and Objections" period.
CEC Kumar also hit out at Rahul Gandhi and said if he doesn't give the oath within 7 days, he will have to apologise.
"Are you calling my voters liars???? EC will not stay shut. He will have to apologise if, within 7 days, I don't get the oath. It means he is a liar, and he blamed my voters as liars," he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
15 minutes ago
- Hans India
Radhakrishnan named NDA's V-P candidate
New Delhi: Maharashtra Governor Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan, a seasoned BJP leader from Tamil Nadu with an RSS background, was on Sunday named the vice-presidential candidate of the ruling National Democratic Alliance. BJP president J P Nadda made the announcement following a meeting of the party's parliamentary board, which included Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and consulting the party's allies. Nadda appealed for unanimous election of Radhakrishnan (67), an OBC leader and two-time former member of Lok Sabha, to the constitutional position, saying the BJP leaders had spoken to the Opposition parties last week and will continue to do so. The Opposition leaders had told the BJP interlocutors that they can make up their mind only after being told of the ruling alliance's nominee, Nadda said, adding that his party will reach out to them again. Due to the comfortable majority of the BJP and its allies in the electoral college, comprising Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members, Radhakrishnan's election is all but certain, and the party hopes that his elevation will help it make fresh inroads in Tamil Nadu, where elections are due next year. Radhakrishnan belongs to the influential Gounder caste, an OBC community, in Tamil Nadu. Nadda emphasised on his nearly 40 years in public life, noting that he is well regarded in different parties and commands respect among various sections of society. "He is considered a statesman," Nadda said of the former Coimbatore MP who was made the Jharkhand governor in 2023 and then shifted to Maharashtra in July 2024. Unlike his predecessor Jagdeep Dhankhar, who was also a governor like him before being named as the NDA's vice-presidential nominee in 2022, Radhakrishnan has refrained from cultivating a public profile on political issues and skirted any controversy. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, sources said, will oversee the vice-presidential election, while Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju will be the polling agent. The last date for filing nomination is August 21. Chief ministers and deputy chief ministers of the BJP-led alliance will to be part of Radhakrishnan's nomination-filing exercise, besides the prime minister and Union ministers. If the Opposition alsonames its candidate, the election will be held on September 9.
Hans India
15 minutes ago
- Hans India
Rahul Gandhi kicks off ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra'
Patna/New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday launched the party's 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar, a 16-day march covering more than 1,300 km across over 20 districts. The campaign, aimed at protesting Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list and what the Congress calls 'vote chori,' began from Sasaram and will culminate with a rally in Patna on 1 September. The yatra began from Bihar's Sasaram, with several leaders such as Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Pawan Khera, Kanhaiya Kumar and senior RJD leaders, including Lalu Prasad Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav, joining Gandhi for the launch. Rahul Gandhi, in a post on X, wrote: '16 days, 20+ districts, 1,300+ km. We are coming among the people with the Voter Adhikar Yatra. This is a fight to protect the most basic democratic right – 'one person, one vote'. Join us in Bihar to save the Constitution.' The route will take Gandhi through Aurangabad, Gaya, Nalanda, Sheikhpura, Munger, Bhagalpur, Purnea, Darbhanga, Sitamarhi, Champaran, Siwan, Chapra and Arrah, before concluding in Patna. During the event, the Congress MP vowed to expose 'vote chori' and added that the Special Intensive Revision in Bihar was a 'conspiracy' by the Election Commission. The entire country knows what the Election Commission is doing. Earlier, the country did not know how votes were being stolen. But we made it clear in the press conference how votes are being stolen. Whenever the theft is happening, whether in Bihar, Maharashtra, Assam, Bengal, we will catch the theft and working to show it to the people," said Gandhi. "I am telling you from this stage that Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha elections are being stolen in the entire country. Their latest conspiracy is to conduct SIR in Bihar and steal the Bihar elections as well by cutting the new votes and adding fake ones. All of us have come to this stage to tell you that we will not let them steal this election," he said.
Hans India
15 minutes ago
- Hans India
CEC junks ‘vote chori' charges
New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday adopted a self-righteous tone, dismissing 'vote chori' allegations by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in its first press conference since Bihar's controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR), stating that they are standing like a rock behind the voters. 'Either give an affidavit under oath or apologise to the nation. If the affidavit is not received within 7 days, it means that all these allegations are baseless,' Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said in response to allegations made by Rahul Gandhi. The CEC stated that the EC takes every possible step to safeguard the voting rights of every citizen in the country, and a deliberate attempt is being made to discredit them. The Commission's press meet comes 10 days after the Opposition leader in a press conference accused the ECI of facilitating widespread electoral malpractice. Rahul Gandi alleged that over one lakh fake votes were registered to aid in BJP's victory in Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha constituency in the 2024 Parliament elections. He had also accused the election body of attempting to steal Bihar's Assembly elections. Following his press conference, the ECI had accused the Congress leader of using 'dirty phrases' against them. 'The EC is not scared of such allegations, and neither are the voters. I want to make it clear that the EC will without bias stand like a rock with women, poor, young, voters of the country,' he said, adding that the allegations are tantamount to insulting the Constitution. On questions regarding allegations of undue haste in SIR, the ECI said they are misleading. "The law says that such revisions are to be done before the polls," the CEC said. "In Bihar, in 2003 an SIR was done. It was done successfully then, it would be done successfully now," he added. When asked about voter irregularities in Kerala and Karnataka, the CEC said, 'If no candidate had a problem even up till 45 days after the election concluded, then it is clear to all voters what the intent is.' Gyanesh Kumar also said that unlike the special summary revision, the SIR is an attempt to purify the rolls by giving to each voter an enumeration form. Responding to a question on why the ECI is determining eligibility, Gyanesh Kumar said that it was being done to ensure that the Article 326 of the Constitution is not violated.
