New Delhi [India], September 24 (ANI): Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday alleged that "vote chori, kanoon chori and sanstha chori" was taking place in the country, while reacting to a report by the Indian Express claiming objections raised by two Election Commissioners over discrepancies in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.
Addressing a press conference in the national capital, Gandhi alleged an attack on the Constitution and demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, saying that the Congress would not remain silent and allow democracy to be "destroyed".
"Mr Gyanesh Kumar must resign immediately. We are not going to let democracy be destroyed in India and sit silent, and the people responsible for this are going to be punished. The two Election Commissioners have done a wise thing, and I appreciate it," Gandhi said.
He alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat were "conspirators" and said they would be investigated for what he called a "conspiracy to steal elections". "Deshdrohis will be punished. CEC Gyanesh Kumar must resign immediately. Modi and Shah will be investigated for their conspiracy to steal elections," Gandhi said.
"This is an attack on the Constitution of India. Vote chori, kanoon chori and sanstha chori is going on," he alleged.
Gandhi said the vote was the foundation of the country and linked it with the Constitution, laws and institutions. "The vote is the foundation of our country. Because it is from the vote, which is supposed to be protected by the Election Commission, that our Constitution gets its power. From the Constitution, our laws are made; and from our laws emerge our institutions. This is a chain," he said.
"This chain defines modern India. The central question here is: this is not just an attack on the vote. This is an attack on the idea, on the basic infrastructure, on the expression of every single Indian person," he added.
Reacting to an Indian Express report claiming that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections over decisions related to the SIR process and other electoral matters, Gandhi questioned the absence of "anti-incumbency" against the Bharatiya Janata Party.
"I come from a political family, and I have spent more than 50 years in a political family. In India, there is a fundamental force called anti-incumbency that very quickly starts to resist any government. It does not spare anybody," he said.
"Indira Gandhi won the Bangladesh war, was at the height of her popularity, and then suddenly, within a year or two, massive anti-incumbency, massive pressure. The same exact thing happens to leader after leader after leader. Happens to Congress leaders; it happens to regional parties, but for some reason, it never happens to Mr Narendra Modi, does not happen to Mr Shah, does not happen to the BJP," Gandhi added.
He further said, "Haryana swings from one party to another for 50 years. Suddenly anti-incumbency disappears. Maharashtra swings; suddenly it disappears. Uttar Pradesh swings. Sometimes Samajwadi, sometimes BSP; it disappears. Madhya Pradesh, it disappears."
"This has been a fundamental question for us. We can understand the popularity of a person, and the performance of a government, but we cannot understand how anti-incumbency disappears," he said.
"Anti-incumbency does not exist in Saddam Hussein's Iraq. It does not exist in North Korea. There is no democracy on this planet where anti-incumbency does not exist," Gandhi added.
The Congress leader reiterated that if the electoral process was compromised, it would impact the functioning of constitutional institutions.
"If the vote has been destroyed, then our Constitution has been destroyed. If our Constitution has been destroyed, our laws are illegal. If our laws are illegal, our institutions are meaningless," he said.
The Indian Express report had claimed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders related to the SIR process and other electoral matters. The reported disagreements included issues concerning Form 6, voter deletions and access to electoral-roll databases.
The Election Commission has rejected the suggestion that the reported objections amounted to institutional dissent over final decisions. The poll panel said operational queries, inputs and suggestions raised during the draft stage were part of its standard administrative and decision-making process.
The poll body maintained that all decisions taken by the Commission, including those related to SIR, were unanimous and had the approval of all three commissioners.
The issue has triggered reactions from Opposition parties, with Congress leaders questioning the Commission's decision-making process and raising concerns over electoral-roll revisions. The Congress has intensified its criticism of the SIR exercise, while the BJP and the Election Commission have defended the process. (ANI)
"Vote Chori, Kanoon Chori, Sanstha Chori", alleges Rahul Gandhi; says "not going to let democracy be destroyed"
