New Delhi, Sep 24 In a no-holds-barred attack, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar are “deshdrohis” (traitors) who have “destroyed” India’s voting system and asked the CEC to immediately resign and turn an “approver”.
Addressing a press conference at Indira Bhawan, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha alleged that India’s elections have been fundamentally broken, vote destroyed and institutions captured by Modi and Shah, who would be investigated for their conspiracy to “steal elections” and for what they have done to the country.
He claimed Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi have endorsed to what he has been saying for over a year that the country’s electoral system has been “destroyed”, after revelations came out in a media report that they red-flagged issues of deletion and addition of votes through Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Gandhi said they have done a good thing by accepting in a way that “vote chori” is happening and by pointing out “flaws”.
He advised Kumar to “think seriously and turn an approver”, saying it will be “considered an act of nationalism”.
Gandhi claimed further revelations will come out soon on the problems in the system.
“This is not just an attack on the vote, this is a fundamental attack on the idea of India and this is being carried out by the top leadership of this country,” he said.
He alleged all elections including those to several assemblies were “rigged” and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls were “completely fake” and the EC has lost its credibility.
“This is an attack on the Constitution and the country’s legal structure. You were supposed to ensure that the vote was protected… There are going to be consequences to this. We are not going to let democracy be destroyed and sit silent. Those responsible will be punished,” Gandhi said.
“The prime minister and Amit Shah are both going to be investigated for what has been done. Without any doubt, both the PM and Amit Shah, are at the top of this conspiracy and they are going to be investigated for what they have done to this country,” Gandhi said and added that this is an act against the Indian state and its people.
“These are ‘deshdrohis (traitors)’. A person who attacks the vote and fundamentally destroys India’s democratic institutions is nothing other than a ‘deshdrohi’,” Gandhi asserted.
“The fact is that the prime minister and the home minister of this country have attacked and destroyed the democratic architecture of India,” Gandhi said, adding that no matter what they will not let this “crime” go unanswered.
“From ‘vote chori’, comes ‘kanoon chori’ and from that comes ‘sanstha chori’,” he said.
The former Congress chief also showed on screen pictures of Modi, Shah, industrialist Gautam Adani, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Principal Secretary to the prime minister P K Mishra and CEC Kumar under the header “conspirators”.
He also showed photographs of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, former education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Piyush Goyal, among others, under the header “pawns”.
Gandhi played out a few videos in which Modi and Shah claimed they would remain in power for several years. While Shah is heard saying the BJP will be in power for 30 years, the prime minister raises the slogan ‘Abki Baar 400 Paar’.
Noting that no political leader in a democracy can make such claims as made by Modi and Shah, he said there is a fundamental force called “anti-incumbency” in India which starts to resist and does not spare anybody.
He claimed that even Indira Gandhi, despite winning Bangladesh War, faced anti-incumbency within a year and this happened to all political leaders including Rajiv Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
However, this does not happen with Modi, Shah and the BJP, claiming that that now we know the answer to it, Gandhi said.
“We can understand the popularity of a person, the performance of a government but anti-incumbency completely disappearing? It does not exist in Iraq of Saddam Hussain and in North Korea,” he argued.
Noting that vote is the foundation of our democracy, Gandhi said the EC protects it and the Constitution.
“If the vote has been destroyed then our Constitution has been destroyed, it no longer has the power. If the Constitution is destroyed laws are illegal and our institutions are meaningless,” he said.
To a question on Gen Z, he said they are raising their voice against this government and that is why they are now allowing them to get their votes.
He also referred to his dissent note given at the time Kumar was appointed CEC, saying he pointed out that the appointment process should be independent and free from executive control, but it was junked.
“Conspirators stole the vote, laws were stolen through vote theft, the country’s institutions were stolen…Not only that – the laws made after the vote theft are illegal,” Gandhi said.
If the BJP, Modi, and Kumar destroy India’s voting system and the legal structure, the Congress and the opposition will not sit quietly.
“Remember — traitors will definitely be punished,” he asserted.
Earlier, Gandhi said enemies of the Constitution have been exposed and justice will be served.
“The enemies of the Constitution have been exposed. Justice will be served,” he said on X, using the hashtag ‘Vote Chori’.
In another post, he said, for three years he has been exposing vote theft.
“Now, the Election Commissioners themselves are acknowledging it and bringing the truth to light. Gyanesh Kumar has committed treason. He should resign immediately and become an approver.”
Gandhi’s assertions come after The Indian Express reported that questions were repeatedly raised on issues related to SIR within the three-member EC by two of the three commissioners.
(PTI News)
