Congress' Samvidhan Bachao rally presses against voter list revision drive in Bihar; BJP labels it "political tourism"

New Delhi [India], July 11 (ANI): Congress on Friday held a massive Samvidhan Bachao rally in Odisha Bhubaneswar while targeting the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over various issues, including the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise being carried out by the Election Commission (EC) in Bihar ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.
However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has resorted to being defensive while attacking the opposition party, labelling Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi as a misleader and habitual liar for questioning the integrity of the EC. The ruling party leaders also called the Samvidhan Bachao rally political tourism.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge called the BJP chori ki sarkar, choron ki sarkar (BJP forming the government of thieves) in Maharashtra by manipulating voter rolls, and a similar manipulation of electoral rolls is happening with the ongoing SIR drive in Bihar.
While speaking at the Samvidhan Bachao Samavesh event in Odisha Bhubaneswar, Kharge said that out of the seven crore voters in Bihar, two crore voters will be left out of the electoral rolls due to the ongoing SIR, and appealed to the people to oust the traitors and teach them a lesson.
There is a chori ki sarkar, choron ki sarkar in Maharashtra. 85 lakh voters were changed, and then the BJP Govt came to power there. Similarly, in Bihar, out of 7 crore voters there, two crore voters are being cancelled, the Congress president said.
Calling for people to vote out the Bharatiya Janata Party in Bihar, the Rajya Sabha MP added, Do you want such a government, such people? Will this safeguard democracy? We should oust traitors and teach them a lesson.
The claim of lakhs of voters being added in Maharashtra electoral rolls has been repeatedly brought up by Congress, including party leader Rahul Gandhi, who has demanded answers from the Election Commission of India and asked them to publish the electoral rolls in machine-readable format for parties to analyse. Rahul Gandhi claims that the alleged discrepancy happened as more than 70 lakh voters were added in the electoral rolls between the Lok Sabha elections and the Assembly elections.
Rahul Gandhi, who also addressed the event in Bhubaneswar earlier today, accused the Election Commission of India of hatching a conspiracy for chunav chori (election theft) in Bihar. Claiming that the ECI is working as a BJP wing.
BJP is attacking the Constitution. Yesterday I was in Bihar. Just like chunav chori was done in Maharashtra, similar attempts are being made to do chunav chori in Bihar. EC has hatched a new conspiracy for chunav chori. EC is working as a BJP wing, it is not doing its own job, the Lok Sabha LoP said.
In Maharashtra, between Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections, one crore new voters were added. Nobody knows who these voters were and where they came from. We told EC several times to provide us with the voter list and videography. But EC does not provide us with the same. They are going to do the same chori in Bihar, that was done in Maharashtra, he added.
Gandhi also accused the Odisha government of stealing the wealth from poor people.
Reacting to the allegations levelled by the opposition leaders from Congress, BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi took a jibe at Rahul Gandhi, calling him an accidental politician, seasonal politician and a political tourist. She also criticised Gandhi for his remarks on double-engine government in Odisha, saying that the government was doing good work.
When I think of Rahul Gandhi visit to Odisha, three expressions come to my mind- accidental politician, seasonal politician and a political tourist. The question today is - how much does Rahul Gandhi know about Odisha? Odisha, with a population of 4.5 crore, has been governed by the BJP for the past year, and we are doing good work. PM had also come to Odisha and spoke about the work this government has done in the past year. Suddenly, after many months, Rahul Gandhi comes to Odisha and talks about nothing being done here and women not being safe in the state. Before BJD, Congress was ruling the state. ...I dont think there is any relevance to his statements. He wants to remain politically relevant in terms of Odisha and Bihar, Sarangi told ANI.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan took a dig at Gandhi over his remarks against the EC, suggesting that the constitutional body was indulging in chunav chori (election theft) in Bihar, and said that his situation was akin to the saying, blaming the stage for not knowing how to dance.
In a post on X, Pradhan dismissed Congress Sanvidhan Bachao rally in Odisha, calling it an example of political tourism.
This is not about aving the constitution but rather about saving Rahul Gandhi and Congress. The unwavering trust of the people in the public-welfare-oriented BJP government in Odisha is troubling the Congress. Congress has no presence or existence in Odisha; the poor, Dalits, tribals, farmers, and labourers of Odisha rejected Congress decades ago. In such a scenario, Rahul Gandhi talk about the welfare of Odisha poor is nothing but deception, Pradhan said.
Odisha Minister Suresh Pujari also criticised Rahul Gandhi over his remarks, saying that the LoP never comes prepared to address the rally. He maintained that the Mohan Majhi government had done more work in a year than Congress did in 45 years.
In a democracy, every political party has the right to hold as many rallies as they want. Rahul Gandhi also has the right to address the rally. But the unfortunate part is that he never comes prepared. A responsible politician should go to an address prepared with relevant statistics. Whatever he said today is against the record... During the one year, the number of pattas distributed under water, forest, and land rights by the Mohan Majhi government is more than what Congress did in 45 years, Pujari told ANI.
BJP leader CR Kesavan said, Rahul Gandhi has never been an honest leader. He, on the contrary, is a misleader, a habitual liar. The fear of dismal failure in the Bihar elections is the reason why the Congress and Rahul Gandhi are rattled and unscrupulously trying to denigrate the integrity of the Election Commission. Rahul Gandhi desperate scare tactics and fear-mongering will not succeed.
Moreover, Congress chief Kharge lambasted the ruling BJP in the centre, accusing it of dividing people during the Samvidhan Bachao rally and urged the youth to wake up and protect the Constitution to save themselves.
He also launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi while accusing him of peddling lies and said that the PM lacked the courage to speak against Donald Trump.
Citing the ceasefire announcement by US President Donald Trump during the India and Pakistan conflict after the Pahalgam terror attack, Kharge lashed out at PM Modi, saying that the Prime Minister lacks the courage to speak against Trump. (ANI)

Disclaimer: This news article is a direct feed from ANI and has not been edited by the News Nation team. The news agency is solely responsible for its content.