NEW DELHI: Hitting back at the BJP for claiming irregularities in seats contested by some top opposition leaders, the Congress on Wednesday said the data shared by the ruling party points to its collusion with the Election Commission (EC) and demanded that the 2024 Lok Sabha polls be considered "null and void" for being held on "fake voter lists".
The opposition party also demanded the electronic voter list of Varanasi, from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi had won the electoral contest, "so that people get to know whether he had truly won or not".
The Congress's attack came after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed irregularities in voter registration in the Rae Bareli, Wayanad, Diamond Harbour and Kannauj parliamentary seats, and asked Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Abhishek Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav to resign as Lok Sabha MPs, alleging that they secured their electoral triumphs with "vote chori".
Giving a slide-show presentation on the issue at the BJP headquarters here on an 'analysis' of electoral rolls in these constituencies represented by opposition leaders, former Union minister Anurag Thakur also flagged "irregularities" in the voter registration in Kolathur assembly seat in Tamil Nadu and in Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh. He asked Chief Minister and DMK supremo M K Stalin and SP leader Dimple Yadav to resign for "rigging" election.
Hitting back at Thakur, Congress's media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said, "The numbers of five-six Lok Sabha constituencies that he (Thakur) has released ...it took us six months to collect for just one Vidhan Sabha. Where did he get the electronic voter list from? This shows how deeply aligned BJP leaders are with the EC."
"We also want to point out that what he has released today is evidence of a crime. We demand that this evidence be handed over to us within 24 hours so we can proceed with the investigation. We also want the electronic voter list of Varanasi, from where the prime minister won (the Lok Sabha election) by a very small margin, so that people can know whether he truly won or not," Khera told PTI Videos.
The entire 2024 general election was conducted on "such fake voter lists", the Congress leader alleged. "Today, he (Thakur) has released the data for five-six Lok Sabha constituencies, whereas we had only released a list of 50 booths from one Vidhan Sabha. This proves, by his own action, that the election was held on a fake voter list. We demand that the Lok Sabha election be considered null and void," Khera said.
Thakur slammed the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, and DMK leaders for raising questions on the Election Commission. He accused them of running a vicious propaganda against the special intensive revision (SIR) of the elector rolls, which is currently underway in Bihar and would be launched in other states.
He claimed that the aim of the opposition’s criticism was to protect their "vote bank of illegal Bangladeshi infiltration" and other "intruders".
"Seeing this 'shor' (hue and cry) being made by the opposition, it now seems that 'chor machaye shor'", the BJP leader said, suggesting that those who were in the wrong are now crying foul.
"Rae Bareli, Wayanad, Kannuaj to Diamond Harbour -- everywhere one question is coming up, why did they make fake voters? Will they resign for indulging in 'vote chori' and protecting intruders?" Thakur asked.
Dissolution of Lok Sabha first step towards genuine SIR: Abhishek Banerjee
Trinamool Congress (TMC) general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday said immediate dissolution of the Lok Sabha should be the first step towards conducting a genuine Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
In a post on X, the TMC leader also said that the SIR should be implemented across the country and not selectively in the poll-bound states.
"The EC (Election Commission) has stated that the voter lists across various states on the basis of which the General Elections were held barely a year ago in 2024 are faulty and riddled with irregularities," Banerjee said.
"If that is indeed the case, and if the GoI (Government of India) agrees with the EC's assessment, then the first step towards conducting a genuine SIR and standing on moral high ground is the immediate dissolution of Lok Sabha," he said, and added,
"If one truly supports the idea of SIR, then as per the EC's own statement - the people of this country have been betrayed," he said.
Banerjee said the Lok Sabha should be dissolved, the SIR should be conducted across the country, and general elections should be held.
"Aap chronology samajh lijiye (understand the chronology) - dissolve the House, conduct SIR across the country, go for elections and face the people," he said.
The INDIA bloc parties have been protesting against the ongoing the SIR exercise in Bihar, calling it "vote chori" (vote theft), and an exercise which would lead to the disenfranchisement of many.
The opposition parties have been pressing for a debate on the issue in Parliament.
They also attempted a march to the EC office on Monday, but were stopped midway.
The Congress on Wednesday announced that Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, along with the INDIA bloc leaders in Bihar, will embark on a 'Vote Adhikar Yatra' across the state starting August 17.