Cong holds protest over ‘Vote Chori’, farmers’ issues in Kaithal

The Congress party held a protest in Kaithal on Thursday, alleging widespread “vote rigging” by the BJP, along with farmers’ paddy bought below the MSP, rampant illegal mining and poor law and order situation in Haryana. Congress leaders demanded compensation for the loss to their crops due to flood, rainfall and diseases.

Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee president Rao Narendra Singh, with the special presence of AICC general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Singh Surjewala, national secretary and Haryana co-incharge Prafulla Gudadhe and several senior Congress leaders, including district president Ramchandra Gurjar Dhand, Kaithal MLA Aditya Surjewala, Guhla MLA Devender Hans, Kalayat MLA Vikas Saharan, Congress candidate from Pundri Sultan Jadola and others started march from Jawahar Park and culminated at Navgrah Chowk, where party leaders submitted a memorandum addressed to the President of India to the SDM.

Addressing the gathering, Congress state president Rao Narendra Singh alleged large-scale vote theft in Haryana. “A massive vote robbery has taken place in Haryana. Lakhs of fake votes were cast and genuine voters’ names were deleted,” he said.

Rao said Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi correctly said one out of every eight votes in Haryana was fake. “Twenty-five lakh votes have been stolen. This is not Congress’ defeat, it is the murder of the people’s mandate,” he said.

MP Randeep Singh Surjewala launched a sharp attack on the BJP government and Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, alleging that multiple forms of “theft” had taken place in the state over the past year. Surjewala accused the BJP of not only stealing votes, but also “stealing MSP and compensation of farmers,” along with allowing massive illegal mining. “Despite promises of MSP procurement of wheat, paddy, mustard and cotton, the farmers are not receiving fair prices. The compensation for flood and rain-related damages has been withheld. There is fraud in girdawari and large-scale cuts in compensation,” he said.

Kaithal MLA Aditya Surjewala said “By stealing the votes, the BJP has attacked the soul of democracy. Fake votes were imported from Brazil to insult Haryana’s mandate,” he alleged.— TNS