Scenes from Congress conclave at Vigyan Bhawan—Congregation of party heavyweights, Rahul's sharpest attack on EC yet
Addressing the annual legal conclave of the Congress—titled 'Constitutional Challenges Perspectives & Pathways'—Rahul said that a Congress analysis found that of the six-and-a-half lakh electors in the 2024 general elections, one-and-a-half lakh were fake.
New Delhi: Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi Saturday said that 'the election system in India is already dead' and alleged that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were 'rigged', claiming that he had proof to substantiate his charge.
Highlighting a six-month investigation into the elections data by the Congress, Rahul further alleged that the Election Commission of India no longer existed; it had disappeared. According to documentation received from the EC, Rahul called what the Congress had ascertained 'literally like an atom bomb'.
'This makes it clear that the institution that defends the Constitution has been obliterated and taken over. We have such proof that will show the whole country that the institution of the Election Commission does not exist … It has taken us six months of non-stop work to find this proof. You will see with zero doubt how a Lok Sabha election is stolen,' Rahul said.
The LoP rekindled his suspicions regarding the election system, saying that he had his doubts about 'something being wrong' since 2014. Questioning the BJP's sweeping victories in the assembly elections of Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh, Rahul noted that the Congress began investigating electoral malpractices, following their defeat in Maharashtra, where one crore new voters appeared within months ahead of the assembly elections, with the BJP ultimately gaining from the move.
'I have been speaking in recent times about the election system. I had always suspected something was wrong, starting from 2014. I had a suspicion during the Gujarat Assembly elections. This ability (of the BJP) to win sweeping victories … in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, or Gujarat surprised me. Whenever we spoke, people said, 'Where's the proof?' Then, something happened in Maharashtra,' Rahul said.
'In the Lok Sabha, we won the election. And then four months later, we did not just lose, we were obliterated. Three formidable parties suddenly just evaporated. We started to look seriously for electoral malpractice. We found that in Maharashtra, one crore new voters appeared between the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections. The bulk of those votes go to the BJP … Now, I say, with absolutely no doubt that we have proof,' the Congress leader said.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
Also Read: Demolitions, elections, Bharat Jodo Yatra—10 best 2022 photographs from ThePrint
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
26 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Surjewala hits out at Haryana govt over ‘steep hike' in collector rates
The Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala on Sunday hit out at the chief minister Nayab Singh Saini-led government in Haryana over a 'steep hike' in collector rates for property registration, saying that this move will be a blow to the common man's dream of owning a house. Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala. (File) The state government has already dismissed as 'unfounded and misleading', the claims of a section of the Opposition leaders that the collector rates have been hiked by more than 130%. 'The arbitrary increase in collector rates twice in just eight months and without public consultation, logical reasoning, or defined parameters is a proof of the government's economic mismanagement and incompetence,' Surjewala said addressing a news conference here. 'In 2022, the BJP had promised 'a permanent home for all.' But today, even building a house with hard-earned money has become impossible. Now, by hiking collector rates further their dreams are being crushed.' The senior Congress leader alleged that there is a nexus between the government and the builders behind the sudden increase in the collector rate. He said that the state government had in this year's budget set a target of earning ₹16,555 crore from 'stamp duty and registration fees' as against ₹14,000 crore in the year 2024-25, adding it was now eyeing to earn a substantial amount from the hiked collector rates. He said the hiked collector rates will effectively increase stamp duties on registering sale deeds of immovable properties. 'An analysis of the last five years reveals that the government has increased collector rates by 50% to 250% for plots, houses, flats, commercial properties, shops, and agricultural land,' Surjewala claimed. He said that the burden on common people by hiking collector rates comes at a time when the prices of sand, gravel, bricks, cement, steel and other construction materials have already increased manifold in the last five years. 'Isn't this hike just a scheme to help BJP-affiliated soon as rates increase, builders jack up prices for ongoing projects. Who pockets the profits? What is the logic, criteria, or basis for these hikes?' he asked. Accusing the government of turning Haryana's cities into 'garbage dumps' with stray cattle, potholed roads, stinking waste piles, and overflowing drains, he asked: 'Why hike in collector rates when basic amenities are missing?'
Hindustan Times
26 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Mamata Banerjee angered by Delhi police mention of ‘Bangladeshi language', BJP reacts
'Scandalous, insulting, anti‑national, and unconstitutional" is how Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee described an August 3 letter by the Delhi police that called Bengali, or Bangla, a 'Bangladeshi language'. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee at a function in Kolkata.(HT File Photo) The Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader, sharing an image of the letter on X, emphasised that Bengali is sanctified by the Indian Constitution, and the mother tongue of icons like Rabindranath Tagore and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. The police had purportedly written to Banga Bhawan, West Bengal's state guest house in New Delhi, seeking assistance with translating documents written in 'Bangladeshi language' for eight individuals suspected of being illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. HT has not independently verified the authenticity of the letter, while police have not yet responded. The image shared by Banerjee showed that the letter, dated July 24, said police needed an interpreter 'proficient in Bangladeshi national language' for documents belonging to the eight persons 'strongly suspected to be Bangladeshi nationals residing illegally in India'. TMC national general secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee demanded an apology from home minister Amit Shah, under whose ministry Delhi Police falls, for the way the letter was written. 'For months now, Bengali-speaking people have been targeted, harassed and detained across BJP-ruled states,' he added, and called the letter 'a shocking escalation' and an attempt to 'undermine Bengali identity' and "equate Indian Bengalis with foreigners'. Reacting to the allegations, Samik Bhattacharya, the West Bengal BJP chief, accused the TMC of resorting to 'fear-mongering tactics' for Indian Bengalis while 'shielding' illegal immigrants. BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya reacted, too, accusing Mamata Banerjee of spreading misinformation for 'vote‑bank politics'. He called her X post 'a badly scripted political stunt'. Bengali artists were incensed by the notice too. "Bangla referred to as Bangladeshi language... Exactly the kind of ignorance I expect from the people responsible... Not surprised at all," wrote singer Surojit Chatterjee. "That's not Bangladeshi language… that's Bangla or Bengali," film director Srijit Mukherji posted on X, 'the same language in which your national anthem was originally written and one of the 22 official languages of India.'
Hindustan Times
26 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Haryana: Sirsa MP demands probe into tablet distribution ‘scam'
Senior Congress leader and Sirsa MP Kumari Selja on Sunday said that the truth of education system in Haryana under the BJP government has been fully exposed with 5 lakh e-tablets purchased during the post Covid-19 pandemic period turning into mere toys. Senior Congress leader and Sirsa MP Kumari Selja. (File) Demanding an 'impartial investigation' into what she called the 'tablet scam' and seeking strict action against the guilty officials, Selja said that every section of society is suffering due to the wrong policies of the BJP government. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, the Haryana government in 2022 implemented a ₹620 crore tablet-based digital learning programme called e-Adhigam. Over 5 lakh students of government schools of Class 10 and 12 were provided tablets loaded with PAL software and enabled with free internet services through data SIM cards. In a statement Selja said that these tablets internet access, are now non-functional and hanging indefinitely. 'No one knows when they will start working,' the Sirsa MP said, adding that though this scheme was launched during the tenure of then-chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, the current government has completely derailed it. 'Instead of benefiting students, it has caused them more harm. The curriculum was only loaded for three years, and though the government planned to update the data, even that task was left incomplete,' she said, accusing the government of blindly implementing schemes by relying solely on officials and without assessing whether they are beneficial or harmful. She said that the academic session of April 2025–26 has already begun and tablets have not been distributed. 'They are probably lying in some corner and gathering dust.' The entire scheme of distributing computers, tablets, and Edusets without proper planning reeks of corruption, she said, demanding that if the tablets are faulty, they should be repaired and distributed to children along with SIM and internet facilities, as they were purchased keeping students' interests in mind. 'Or else, the government should openly admit that ₹700 crore has gone down the drain,' she said.
