PATNA: Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi continued his campaign against alleged ‘vote theft’ while addressing public meetings in Purnea in poll-bound Bihar on Thursday.
The Congress MP said, “A large number of fraudulent votes are cast in UP and Haryana. The BJP won the Haryana elections through fraud. A Brazillian model figured in the electoral roll in the northern state. Besides, there were two women, whose photographs appeared over 100 and 200 times in the voters’ list.”
“Home Minister Amit Shah also knows that he cannot win the Bihar poll without stealing votes,” said Gandhi, urging voters who want to support the Mahagathbandhan to be cautious.
Targeting Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and the Centre, Gandhi said, “Nitish claims he has changed Bihar in the last 20 years, but all he has done is create migrant labourers. The state is still facing the lack of quality education and healthcare system. He says there is no land for setting up industries, yet land has been allocated to the Adani Group.”
“I meet natives of Bihar everywhere I go. Although the youth of Bihar is very bright and the state has the potential to build cities like Bengaluru and Dubai, its universities are reeling under the paper leaks,” he said.
The former Congress chief also reiterated the party’s claim that Nitish was being ‘remote controlled’ by PM Modi.
Meanwhile, at a public meeting, Congress candidate Irfan Alam broke down in front of Rahul Gandhi. “This is the first time when I have been allowed to speak on such a big platform. I want to tell Rahul that he has given party ticket to the son of a letter distributor,” he later said during his address.
At a public meeting in Motihari, AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi also backed her brother for raising the issue of vote theft.
“Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and other EC officials are trying to subvert the Constitution,” she said, adding that the Mahagathbandhan would come to power if the ongoing elections were conducted in a free and fair manner.
She also mocked PM Modi for trying to highlight differences in the Mahagathbandhan. “Rather than focusing on generating employment, Modi seems more interested in Tejashwi’s face on the Congress posters,” she stated.
Flagging corruption under the NDA government in Bihar, Priyanka pointed out that 27 bridges had collapsed in the state in the last three years.
“Champaran is the place, from where Mahatma Gandhi began his agitation. The NDA has been ruling Bihar for the last 20 years, yet almost half the population is migrating to other states or countries,” she said.