'Vote chori biggest anti-national act': Rahul Gandhi slams RSS
What's the story
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of "vote chori" (vote theft), calling it "the biggest anti-national act." "When you destroy the vote, you destroy the idea of India," he said. He made these remarks during a debate in the Lok Sabha on Special Intensive Revision (SIR). Gandhi alleged that the Election Commission of India (ECI) is "colluding" with the BJP to rig elections across India.
Panel controversy
Gandhi questions removal of CJI from EC selection panel
Gandhi also questioned the removal of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) from the Election Commissioner selection panel. He alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are controlling who becomes the election commissioner. "I sit in that room. It is so-called a democratic decision. On one side, PM Modi and HM Amit Shah," he said, adding he has no voice in deciding who gets appointed as election commissioners.
Institutional capture
Gandhi accuses RSS of capturing national institutions
Gandhi also accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of capturing national institutions such as intelligence agencies and investigative bodies. He said, "Vice-chancellor after vice-chancellor is placed not on merit, not on capability, not on scientific temper, but on the fact that he belongs to a particular organisation." "The project of the RSS was to capture the institutional framework of the country," he added, stressing that bureaucrats who favor their ideology are systematically placed in key positions.
Allegations backed
Gandhi claims to have proof of ECI's collusion
Gandhi said he has provided proof of the ECI's collusion with those in power. "Why is it that after the SIR in Bihar, 1.2 lakh duplicate photos exist in the voting list, if you've cleaned up the voting list?" he said. "They have not told me why a BJP leader is coming from Uttar Pradesh to vote in Haryana," he remarked. He also questioned changes to the law made by the government, which he claimed gave immunity to election commissioners.