Latest news with #VoterRightsYatra
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
‘Bias On Display': Opposition Slams CEC For Shielding BJP, Dodging Queries
Congress leaders intensified their attack on the Election Commission after Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's press conference. Pawan Khera alleged bias, accusing the CEC of acting like a 'BJP agent' and questioning Union Minister Anurag Thakur's access to voter data. He also ridiculed the EC, claiming voters declared 'dead' were seen with Rahul Gandhi. RJD MP Manoj Jha slammed the EC, saying it was 'not above the Constitution' and must answer tough questions. Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh questioned why only BJP had access to voter lists and launched a 'Voter Rights Yatra' in Bihar. Rajesh Thakur too called the CEC's address 'controversial and irrelevant,' accusing the Commission of lacking transparency.#electioncommission #congress #pawankhera #manojjha #digvijaysingh #rajeshthakur #anuragthakur #voterlist #loksabhaelections2025 #eci
Economic Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Economic Times
Submit affidavit or apologise to the nation: CEC Gyanesh Kumar to Rahul Gandhi over his 'voter theft' allegations
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Rahul Gandhi launches 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads In a sharp rebuke to Congress MP and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday said he must either file an affidavit substantiating his allegations against the Election Commission or apologise before the country, warning that failure to provide a declaration under oath within seven days would render his claims 'baseless and invalid.'The CEC questioned whether the Commission could act on the basis of complaints without proper legal backing.'Should EC issue notice to 1.5 lakh voters without declaration under oath by the complainant?' he to allegations that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar was being carried out in undue haste, Kumar pointed to the statutory mandate of the Election Commission under the Representation of the People Act 'Some people are misleading that why the SIR exercise is being carried out in such a hurry? Should the voter list be rectified before or after the elections? The Election Commission is not saying this; the Representation of the People Act says that you have to rectify the voter list before every election. This is the legal responsibility of the Election Commission,' he further defended the Commission's timeline, stating that the work had begun well in advance.'Then the question arose whether the Election Committee would be able to reach more than seven crore voters of Bihar? The truth is that the work started on 24th June. The entire process was completed by about the 20th of July...'In response, the Congress came out strongly in defence of its leader. 'Rahul Gandhi only stated facts revealed by EC's own data,' the party said, dismissing the Commission's party leader Jairam Ramesh asked, 'Will EC implement, in letter and spirit, Supreme Court's August 14 orders on Bihar SIR process?'Rahul Gandhi on Sunday morning began his 16-day-long 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' from Sasaram in poll-bound Bihar. The yatra, which started around three hours ago, will cover over 1,300 kilometres across more than 20 districts before culminating with a mega rally in Patna on September 1, where leaders of various INDIA bloc parties are expected to join details on X before setting out, Gandhi wrote: '16 days. 20+ districts. 1,300+ kms. We are coming among the people with the Voter Rights Yatra. This is the fight to protect the most fundamental democratic right — 'one person, one vote.' Join us in Bihar to save the Constitution.'Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera hailed the march as another milestone in India's democratic journey. 'Whenever Rahul Gandhi has embarked upon such a march, democracy has turned a new page,' he told reporters, describing the yatra as 'a historic journey, which will prove to be a milestone in the fight for the existence of all of us.'Khera also said leaders from across the INDIA bloc, including Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav, would join the march at different points. He alleged that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls had 'exposed the BJP's designs to disenfranchise lakhs of voters belonging to the Dalit, Adivasi and minority communities, the poor and daily wagers.'He went on to call it 'a conspiracy to not only steal the votes, but also steal the identity,' warning that 'today they will snatch the underprivileged people's right to vote, tomorrow they will refuse them the share in government schemes like free food and housing.'Training his guns on the Election Commission, Khera said the body was becoming 'like one of the train bogeys of the so-called double engine,' a reference to the BJP governments at the Centre and in the states. 'The Election Commission becoming just a compartment of this 'double engine' — this is something we will not accept. We are fighting against this and will continue to do so in the future,' he further claimed that the yatra was born out of popular anger against the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. 'After the people of Bihar, activists, and the Congress and INDIA bloc workers raised their voice against the SIR, the EC was forced to do a course correction. It was only after the intervention by the Supreme Court that the national poll body was compelled to address the concerns of common people and voters,' he to him, the 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' is intended to spread awareness among the masses 'so that the Modi government's conspiracy to deny voting rights to the people of Bihar does not fructify.'
India.com
2 days ago
- Politics
- India.com
Voter Adhikar Yatra' kicks Off In Bihar With Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi Yadav
The INDIA bloc will launch the 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' on Sunday from Sasaram to protest against the alleged irregularities in Bihar's voter list revision. The 1,300 km-long journey will be led jointly by the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and the Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav. Senior leaders, including Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge, CPI(ML) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, and VIP chief Mukesh Sahani, will also join the yatra. Preparations were finalised on Saturday. The specially designed vehicle used during Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra has been remodelled for this campaign. Rahul will arrive at Gaya airport and proceed by helicopter to SP Jain College, Sasaram, where the yatra will be flagged off with a public meeting at noon. Over the 16-day campaign, Rahul Gandhi will engage with people both on foot and by vehicle, depending on the density of the population. The yatra will include two to three public meetings daily, along with roadshows and foot marches at various stops. Night halts have been arranged in tents at 13 different locations along the route. The first night's rest will be at Babhandih Sports Ground in Kutumba, Aurangabad. The Voter Rights Yatra, organised by the INDIA bloc, will cover 25 districts over 16 days and culminate with a massive public meeting at the historic Gandhi Maidan in Patna on September 1. A dedicated van for media personnel, decorated with posters of Rahul and Tejashwi, will accompany the yatra. According to the INDIA bloc leaders, the purpose of the campaign is twofold: to create awareness among voters about their rights and to expose alleged large-scale deletions from the electoral rolls, particularly impacting Dalit, backward, and minority communities. They claim such omissions pose a serious threat to democratic participation in Bihar. As per the schedule, the Yatra will start from Rohtas on August 17, will reach Aurangabad on August 18, Gaya and Nawada on August 19, and, August 20 will be a break. The INDIA bloc Yatra will resume from Lakhisarai-Sheikhpura on August 21, reach Munger and Bhagalpur on August 22, then Katihar on August 23, and Purnea and Araria on August 24. The alliance leaders will take a break on August 25 and resume their journey on August 26 from Supaul. They will reach Darbhanga and Muzaffarpur on August 27, Sitamarhi and Motihari on August 28, Betiah, Gopalganj and Siwan on August 29, Chhapra and Ara on August 30. August 31 will be a break, and the Yatra will finally culminate at Patna's Gandhi Maidan with a massive rally on September 1.
Mint
2 days ago
- Politics
- Mint
EC to hold press conference today as Rahul Gandhi takes out ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar: What we know so far
The Election Commission (EC) will hold a press conference on Sunday amid allegations of "vote chori (theft)" levelled by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the 'special' intensive electoral roll revision in poll-bound Bihar. The press conference will be held a 3 pm on Sunday, news agency ANI reported. It is unusual for the poll authority to convene a formal press conference on issues other than announcing election schedules. While the subject of the press conference has not been specified, officials said it is related to recent allegations levelled against the Election Commision. Gandhi has repeatedly accused the poll panel of voter-data fudging and alleged that there was "vote theft" in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Haryana. The commission has asked the Congress leader to submit the names of those he claims have been wrongfully added or removed from the voters' list, along with a signed declaration. The poll authority also sought an apology from Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, if he fails to give an undertaking to back his allegations. The Election Commission's move to hold a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voters' list in Bihar too is facing questions from the Opposition – who claim that the move will disenfranchise crores of eligible citizens due to want of papers. The Supreme Court earlier asked the Election Comission to publish the details of the 65 lakh deleted names from the voters' list, with reasons of non-inclusion, to enhance transparency in the SIR in Bihar. The Election Commission's presser comes onthe day Rahul Gandhi is set to begin his 16-day-long 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' from Sasaram in poll-bound Bihar. On Saturday, Bihar's Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar said, "Sources have revealed that the Election Commission will to hold a press conference tomorrow, while on the same day, Rahul Gandhi is launching the 'Voter Rights Yatra' in Bihar." 'How long will they keep pulling strings to benefit the BJP? Now, the Election Commission should stop conducting elections and directly contest them instead,' Kanhaiya Kumar said in a post on X. The 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' is aimed at ensuring awareness and alertness among the common people about voter rights and protest against alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. According to PTI, the yatra will cover 1,300 kilometres and will conclude with a mega rally in Patna on September 1, where leaders of various INDIA parties would attend. Gandhi shared details of his yatra in a post on X, saying, '16 days. 20 districts. 1,300 kms. We are coming among the people with the Voter Rights Yatra.' "This is the fight to protect the most fundamental democratic right - 'one person, one vote.' Join us in Bihar to save the Constitution," Gandhi said.
The Print
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Print
Rahul to escalate campaign against ‘vote chori' with ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra' from Bihar's Sasaram
'Whenever Rahul Gandhi ji has set out for a yatra, the democracy of this country has turned a page. 'Voter Rights Yatra' will be a historic march. It will prove to be a milestone in the history of our democracy,' the Congress' media and publicity department head, Pawan Khera, said at a press conference at Indira Bhawan in New Delhi. The leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, along with the RJD's Tejashwi Yadav and other Mahagathbandhan leaders, will undertake the 16-day and 1,300 km yatra from Sasaram that will conclude with a rally in Patna on September 1. Sasaram (Bihar), Aug 16 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will embark on a 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' across Bihar from here on Sunday, with his party asserting it will fight for the 'one man, one vote' principle and not accept the Election Commission becoming a 'compartment' of the BJP's 'so-called double engine'. 'We will not accept that the Election Commission becomes a compartment of this so-called 'double engine'. We are fighting against this and will continue to do so in the future,' he added. The party has been protesting against the special intensive revision of electoral rolls, alleging the EC's exercise is aimed at 'disenfranchising voters' in Bihar ahead of the assembly elections due later this year. The Congress urged the people of Bihar to join the yatra for their rights and entitlements so that democracy can get a direction from Bihar. 'The yatra, starting in Bihar from August 17, is a journey to make people aware because the conspirators will not be deterred and they will try to steal votes,' Khera said. 'The yatra will conclude with a huge rally in Patna on September 1, and the people of the INDIA bloc will participate in it.' He added that the yatra has been planned to fight for the right of 'one person-one vote'. 'It is possible to breathe freely in independent India because we have the power to vote. Rahul Gandhi has started a struggle so that every citizen of the country can breathe freely,' Kehra said. 'The way the game of adding and deducting fake votes was going on, the BJP people have been caught red-handed,' he claimed, adding that 'now, even ordinary citizens are giving evidence of vote theft. When our INDIA bloc colleagues and social workers appealed together, the Supreme Court also had to intervene.' 'This conspiracy was not just to snatch votes. It was a conspiracy to snatch your and our identity. Today, the right to vote is being snatched from the Dalits, the deprived, the oppressed, the exploited, the minorities; tomorrow their participation will be snatched,' Khera alleged. He claimed that a conspiracy was being hatched to attack the poor, against which the people of the country have raised their voice. The Yatra will pass through Aurangabad, Gaya, Nawada, Nalanda, Sheikhpura, Lakhisarai, Munger, Bhagalpur, Katihar, Purnea, Araria, Supaul, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Sitamarhi, East Champaran, West Champaran, Gopalganj, Siwan, Chapra and Ara. At a press briefing in Patna, Congress MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh said that when the Election Commission announced the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, the leaders of the INDIA bloc went to meet poll panel officials, who had stated that 20 per cent of the voters in Bihar would lose their franchise. 'We demanded a discussion on this issue in the House, but the BJP government did not consider it necessary. When the new draft list came out after SIR in Bihar, many irregularities were revealed. When we are asking for answers on this, the BLO (block-level officer) has no answer,' he claimed. 'In such a situation, we have decided that the Congress will start a 'Voter Awareness Campaign'. In this, we will go to all districts of Bihar and make people aware, so that they are not deprived of their rights,' Singh said. He also said that Rahul Gandhi is fighting to save the Constitution. 'Rahul Gandhi is the voice of the poor, deprived, women, farmers, and labourers of the country. We request the people of Bihar to take part in this journey and help us in foiling the plans of the Election Commission-BJP,' Singh added. Gandhi on Thursday said, 'We are waging a direct fight against 'vote chori' from Bihar with the 'Voter Adhikar Yatra.' He asserted that his party will ensure a clean voters' list across the country. ''Vote chori' is not just an election issue but a decisive battle to protect democracy, the Constitution and the principle of 'one man, one vote',' he had said. The Congress on Tuesday claimed that 'vote chori' was a 'do-or-die' issue for it, and announced a roadmap to take its allegations to the people through various activities. PTI ASK NSD NSD This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
