Bihar Assembly polls: Rahul Gandhi accuses BJP of trying to steal elections like in Maharashtra
He further said the Election Commission of India (ECI) acted like a 'wing of the saffron party'.
'Yesterday, I was in Bihar. What we witnessed in Maharashtra, where elections were brazenly stolen, is now being repeated in Bihar. And this time, the ECI itself is part of the conspiracy. It is no longer functioning as an independent body. It is working at the behest of the BJP,' Mr. Gandhi said.
He went on, 'In Maharashtra, between the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections, one crore new voters mysteriously appeared. To this day, no one knows who they are or where they came from. We have repeatedly asked the ECI to share the voter lists, to provide the videos, but they refuse.'
'Now, the same formula is being deployed in Bihar. Yesterday, along with leaders of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, I told the people of Bihar clearly... We will not allow the BJP or the ECI to steal the election. We will stand firm to protect democracy,' said the Congress leader.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge too lambasted the ECI, alleging the constitutional body was not coming clean on the election process and not providing a level playing field for both ruling and Opposition parties. The voter list was being manipulated, he pointed out.
Alleging that the BJP was attacking the Constitution and its leaders were undermining constitutional values, Mr. Gandhi said, 'The Constitution protects the poor, the farmers, and the workers. Nowhere does it say that this country belongs to Adani, Ambani, or Arabpatis (a handful of billionaires). Open the Constitution and read it — it clearly says that this country belongs to every citizen. Every citizen has the right to vote; the land of this nation belongs to its people — to the poor, to the farmers — not to a few wealthy individuals.'
Continuing his tirade, the Congress leader said, 'Wherever we look, whether in Odisha or Chhattisgarh, one name keeps appearing: Adani, Adani, Adani. It seems Adani runs the government of Odisha and Adani controls Narendra Modi. And during the Jagannath Yatra in Odisha, when the sacred chariot rolls out and lakhs of devotees gather, the procession is paused for Adani and his family. That alone tells you everything you need to know about the Odisha government.'
The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said that over 40,000 women have gone missing in Odisha.
'To this day, we don't know where these women have disappeared. Every single day, there is violence against women here. Every day, 15 women are raped in Odisha — and your government remains silent. It has no concern for women's safety, no concern for employment, no concern for the youth. This government only knows how to exploit you — it grabs your land, drains your resources, and ignores your pain,' Mr. Gandhi alleged.
'That is why we are here,' he continued. 'Whether it is me, the Congress President, or any leader of the Congress party — we are standing with you. We will not leave your side.'
Taking a swipe at Congress leaders, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the 'Save the Constitution' rally organised by Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Kharge in Bhubaneswar was, in reality, 'just another instance of political tourism by the Congress prince'.
'This isn't about saving the Constitution,' Mr. Pradhan remarked. 'It's about saving Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party.'
He further asserted that the Congress was rattled by the people's growing trust in the BJP's welfare-oriented governance in Odisha.
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