BENGALURU: Congress MLC and Government Chief Whip in the Council Saleem Ahmed accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and the Election Commission of India of orchestrating a “conspiracy” to “rob the mandate” in Bihar.
“This wasn’t mere vote theft — this was a full-blown robbery of democracy,” Ahmed said, alleging that the BJP leadership “colluded with the Election Commission to manufacture a victory.”
The protest, organised by the State Youth Congress, centred on what the party calls a nationwide assault on electoral integrity.
Ahmed said the Congress’ ongoing movement against ‘Vote Chori’ is crucial to safeguarding the Constitution. “Voting is every citizen’s right. That right cannot be sabotaged,” he told party workers, urging them to build public pressure at every level and mobilise in large numbers.
Launching another attack on the Centre, Ahmed claimed that after Modi assumed power, institutions like the ED, IT, and CBI had become “instruments of political coercion.” “These agencies are no longer independent — they operate under the Centre’s command. This is dangerous for our democracy,” he said, announcing a signature campaign to rally public support.
Ahmed called on Youth Congress workers to confront “corruption, unemployment, and anti-people policies” of the BJP-led Union Government and strengthen the Congress at the grassroots.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Karnataka Pradesh Youth Congress Committee members staged a protest at Freedom Park in Bengaluru around 1.30 pm, raising slogans of “vote chori” and anti-BJP slogans.
As the protesters attempted to march towards and lay siege to the EC office, the police took around 70 of them into preventive custody and later released them.