Congress plans Delhi rally against alleged Vote theft

CH NEWS, Shivamogga The Congress has announced a massive rally at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on November 1 as part of its ongoing campaign against alleged vote theft and irregularities in electoral rolls. AICC observer Deepti Mary Varghese said the protest would bring together people who believe in democracy and constitutional values. Speaking at a press conference at the District Congress office in Shivamogga on Monday, Varghese said the campaign, titled “Save Your Vote, Save the Nation”, had reached a crucial stage. She said the movement began following allegations of electoral irregularities in Bengaluru’s Mahadevapura Assembly constituency. Varghese alleged that similar irregularities were being reported in Maharashtra, Haryana and Bihar. She also expressed concern over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that large numbers of eligible voters could lose their names from the lists. She said the Congress would oppose any attempt to deprive genuine voters of their democratic rights. She further alleged that Form 6 was being misused and said the issue would be included in the party’s campaign. Varghese accused the Election Commission of acting in favour of the BJP and questioned the decisions of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. She said the agitation would continue until he resigned. She added that Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi had taken the campaign to the streets and that the Congress planned to expand it to ward, block and gram panchayat levels. Minister S. Madhu Bangarappa, who was present at the press conference, addressed concerns over the quality of shoes distributed to schoolchildren in Karnataka. He said the shoes were of good quality and denied reports suggesting otherwise. However, he assured that any defective shoes would be replaced. Responding to BJP criticism, Bangarappa accused the party of creating unnecessary confusion and questioned its reaction whenever Prime Minister Narendra Modi was mentioned. Former minister Kimmane Ratnakar, District Congress president H.C. Yogish, several corporation and board chairpersons, party office-bearers and other Congress leaders attended the press conference.