PATNA: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is all set to embark on ‘Vote Adhikar Yatra’ from Bihar’s Rohtas district on August 17 to register a protest against how the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls was being conducted in the state.
This comes at a time when the Opposition is ratcheting up its protest against the SIR and casting aspersions on the integrity of elections. AICC general secretary (organisation) and MP KC Venugopal held a meeting with the INDIA bloc leaders at Sasaram in Rohtas district on Wednesday and reviewed preparations for Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Bihar.
Later, Venugopal wrote on ‘X’, “The fight to protect our democracy will take place on the streets! Starting August 17, LOP Rahul Gandhi Ji and the INDIA parties will embark on a massive ‘Vote Adhikar Yatra’ across Bihar - against the dangerous SIR exercise, and to make the battle against ‘Vote Chori’ a mass movement!
“In this context, met INDIA bloc leaders in Sasaram today (Wednesday) to assess our preparation, mobilisation and set up smooth coordination for the Yatra.”
The Yatra is expected to give a major push to the INDIA bloc’s campaign for the upcoming Bihar assembly election. Along with Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, other senior leaders of the INDIA bloc will address joint public meetings during the Yatra. The Yatra is expected to follow the route that Rahul had undertaken during the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.
The Yatra will culminate in a massive rally in Patna’s Gandhi Maidan on September 11. The Congress earlier said that ‘vote chori’ was a do-or-die issue for it and announced a roadmap to take its allegations to people through various activities, including ‘Loktantra Bachao Mashal marches’ on the evening of August 14.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said that the INDIA bloc leaders would go to the people, and raise various burning issues, including the SIR of electoral rolls barely a few months before assembly elections. He claimed that the Election Commission, allegedly in collusion with the BJP, deleted names of the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) voters while issuing two EPIC cards to some BJP leaders.
Yadav is also holding regular press conferences to “reveal various irregularities” being allegedly committed in the SIR to create a public mood against the BJP as well as the Election Commission before the assembly elections due in October-November. “The SIR is going to be a big issue in the forthcoming election as it is aimed at snatching voting rights of the poor,” he told the media.
‘Plea on threat to life filed without consent’
Hours after filing a plea in a special MP/MLA court in Pune claiming a threat to Rahul Gandhi from the followers of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the Congress leader’s lawyer on Wednesday said it was filed without the Lok Sabha MP’s consent and would be withdrawn. He will submit another application on Thursday to withdraw the pursis.
