Rahul pushes vote theft campaign

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday intensified his campaign against the alleged electoral malpractices with the slogan “vote chor, gaddi chhor”, even as the BJP staged a protest in his constituency, Raebareli.

The saffron party’s protest came in response to remarks made against PM Narendra Modi’s mother during the recently concluded ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Bihar.

Party workers carrying saffron flags and placards raised slogans against Gandhi, while the police attempted to disperse the crowd after some protesters blocked the road.

Uttar Pradesh Minister Dinesh Pratap Singh joined the demonstration, saying, “We demand that Gandhi apologise to the nation.”

Earlier in the day, Gandhi told his supporters in Raebareli that the Congress would continue exposing “vote theft” across the country. “The main slogan ‘Vote chor, gaddi chhor’ is being proven across the country. We will prove it again and again in more and more dramatic ways,” he added.

The Congress has positioned the campaign at the centre of its electoral fight. Party in-charge in Chhattisgarh Sachin Pilot announced that the agitation against the alleged vote theft would be carried forward across the state.

“We will take the ‘vote chor, gaddi chhod’ campaign forward across the entire state. We will force the government to listen to our voice,” he said.

The push follows the conclusion of Gandhi’s ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Bihar that began on August 17 alongside RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav. The rally covered 25 districts and culminated in Patna on September 1. Leaders from Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and other INDIA bloc parties had also joined Gandhi during the final leg.

Back in Raebareli, Gandhi also held meetings with booth-level workers in Harchandpur and Unchahar constituencies, interacted with members of the Prajapati community at a local hotel and unveiled the Ashok Stambh in Sadar constituency.