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 ruing 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 the electoral rolls of these constituencies represented by opposition leaders, former Union minister Anurag Thakur also flagged "irregularities" in the voter registration in the Kolathur Assembly seat in Tamil Nadu and the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh, and asked Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK supremo M K Stalin and Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Dimple Yadav to resign for "rigging" their 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."
{{/usCountry}}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."
{{/usCountry}}"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 Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC), SP and DMK leaders for raising questions on the EC and accused them of running a vicious propaganda against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls, which is currently underway in Bihar and would be launched in other states, to protect their "vote bank of illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators" 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.