Bihar: 'Voter Adhikar Rally' reaches Munger; Tejashwi, Rahul slam CM Nitish Kumar, ECI

Patna, Aug 21 (IANS) The Voter Adhikar Yatra, led by opposition leaders reached Munger on Thursday, where RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi launched attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the Election Commission of India (ECI), accusing them of “vote theft” through the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav, alleged that the BJP and Nitish Kumar manipulate elections whenever they sense defeat.

“PM Modi is coming to Bihar, but he should first give a report card of his 11 years at the Centre. In every election, when the BJP starts losing, they apply tricks to win. He thinks he can fool the people of Bihar,” Tejashwi Yadav quipped.

Tejashwi Yadav also accused Nitish Kumar’s government of lacking vision and merely copying the RJD’s promises.

“I announced social security pension, free electricity, domicile policy, free exam forms — and they copied everything. The people of Bihar must decide whether they want an original Chief Minister or a duplicate one,” he said.

He further claimed Nitish Kumar is "in slumber". Due to this, the law and order situation is worsening, murders, rape, loot, and robbery are regular affairs in Bihar. This government has completely failed to address issues such as unemployment, poor education, and migration.

“This double-engine government has failed on every front. Stay united and uproot this vision-less government,” he urged.

Tejashwi Yadav also accused the Prime Minister and Home Minister of conspiring to disenfranchise the poor.

“Two persons from Gujarat cannot decide who should vote and who should not. Their motive is not to remove poverty but to erase the poor people. We have not seen such a Prime Minister who speaks so many lies,” he said.

Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi echoed Tejashwi’s charge, saying the BJP’s electoral victories were rooted in vote manipulation.

“Every time the country’s mood was for change... the BJP still won — in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and elsewhere — only because they were stealing votes. Now they want to repeat the same in Bihar,” Rahul Gandhi alleged.

He said the Voter Adhikar Yatra was meant to expose both the BJP and the Election Commission.

“Now the entire nation knows the BJP is stealing votes to win elections. But this time in Bihar, their tricks will not work,” Rahul Gandhi declared, drawing loud cheers from the crowd.

The INDIA bloc leaders have repeatedly accused the Election Commission of deleting the names of lakhs of poor and migrant voters in Bihar during the SIR process, a charge the ruling BJP–JD(U) alliance denies.

The Munger rally is seen as one of the most charged stages of the 'Voter Adhikar Yatra', with both Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav sharpening their attacks as Bihar heads toward a high-stakes election.

--IANS

ajk/pgh