Rahul to Launch 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' from Bihar's Sasaram to Escalate 'Vote Chori' Campaign
"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.
By : Deccan Chronicle
Update: 2025-08-16 10:23 GMT
New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will launch his 16-day-long Voter Adhikar Yatra from Sasaram, Bihar, on Sunday, August 17. The march will cover 1,300 km and conclude with a mega rally in Patna on September 1.
Congress spokesperson and AICC media and publicity department chairman Pawan Khera said the yatra would mark another milestone in India’s democratic history. “Whenever Rahul Gandhi has undertaken such a march, democracy has turned a new page,” he remarked. He added that RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and other I.N.D.I.A. bloc partners will also participate.
Khera alleged that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise exposed the BJP’s designs to disenfranchise lakhs of voters from Dalit, Adivasi, minority, poor, and daily wage communities. He called it a conspiracy to “steal votes and identity,” warning that those denied voting rights today could be denied government benefits like free food and housing tomorrow.
The Congress has been protesting against the SIR of electoral rolls, alleging it is an attempt to disenfranchise voters in Bihar ahead of the assembly elections due later this year. The party urged people of Bihar to join the yatra to safeguard their rights. The march 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.
Meanwhile, stepping up its campaign against alleged “vote theft,” the Congress released a new video titled Laapata Vote on Saturday. Alluding to Bollywood, the minute-long video takes inspiration from the film Laapata Ladies.
Posting the video on X, Rahul Gandhi said, “‘Chori chori, chupke chupke’ no more, the public has woken up.” The party added, “The theft of your vote is theft of rights. Let’s raise our voice against vote theft together and save our rights.”
In the video, a man is seen pleading at a police station that his “vote has been stolen” and warns that “lakhs of votes are being stolen,” leaving police personnel to wonder if their own votes are also missing.