Congress launches ‘Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod’ agitation from Karnal

The Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) on Wednesday launched its state-wide agitation titled “Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod” from Karnal, accusing the ruling BJP of “stealing the people’s mandate” and undermining democracy.

Led by HPCC president Rao Narender Singh, Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda, national secretary and Haryana co-incharge Prafulla Gudadhe, and other senior leaders, the protest march began from Sector 12 ground and concluded at the mini-secretariat. A memorandum addressed to the President of India was submitted to SDM Anubhav Mehta.

Addressing the gathering, Rao Narender Singh accused the BJP of “openly stealing votes” and alleged large-scale manipulation and deletion of voters’ names in all five Assembly segments of Karnal district.

“The inaction of the Election Commission and the administration has shaken the foundation of democracy. This is not just the Congress’s battle — it is a fight to save democracy,” he said.

Calling the BJP government “unlawful,” Rao claimed even Lok Sabha voter lists had been tampered with.

“In some areas, hundreds of fake votes were registered under one address. This is a mockery of democracy,” he added.

Echoing similar concerns, Deepender Singh Hooda alleged that “when postal ballot counting began, Congress was leading in 76 seats, but once the EVMs were opened, the people’s mandate was stolen.”

He credited Rahul Gandhi for exposing the alleged voter list irregularities in Parliament and announced that Congress would continue its agitation across all districts of Haryana.

“To protect India’s democracy and Dr BR Ambedkar’s Constitution, we must all fight this battle together,” Hooda said, as supporters chanted slogans of “Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod.”

Hooda further alleged misuse of government machinery and claimed that Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was “acting more like a BJP panna pramukh than a neutral constitutional authority.”

Quoting Rahul Gandhi’s disclosure, Hooda said around 25 lakh votes in Haryana were suspicious, citing cases of voters registered multiple times or under false identities. “In Hodal, 500 registered voters were found at one address — the house of a former BJP councillor where only seven people actually live,” he claimed.

The Rohtak MP also blamed the state government for failures in paddy procurement, rising unemployment, corruption, fertiliser shortages and drug abuse. Responding to JJP leader Dushyant Chautala’s remarks, he quipped: “Ask him where he was when this happened.”