Drama unfolding: Rahul Gandhi says will take up SIR in Bihar

Amid strong resistance from Opposition parties to the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, Congress MP and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Thursday claimed that a "drama" was unfolding in the state and said the important issue will be taken up.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi to demonstrate what he called the Election Commission of India's (ECI) collusion with the BJP to commit "vote chori (theft)", Gandhi also remained non-committal to questions on boycotting the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.

Asked about the remarks of RJD (Rashtriya Janata Dal) leader and former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav that the Opposition could consider boycotting polls in Bihar, the Congress leader said, "What action Opposition parties will take, how we will go about it in the coming days, that is a different matter. The objective of this press conference is that you should know, the whole country and its young people should know that your vote is sacred and holy and that it is being stolen."

"You know what sources are behind it, we have shown you how it is being done," he said.

On specifically being asked about the electoral roll revision exercise, Gandhi said, "We will discuss SIR in Bihar, that is very important. But here I want to keep your focus on this evidence and the model of election chori. I think this model is being used in many Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha polls.

"Tomorrow, we, along with the Congress president (Mallikarjun Kharge), are going to Bengaluru for a march. We are going to raise this issue. Of course, there is another drama unfolding in Bihar....This idea that democracy has been destroyed in India is gaining ground, it is, in my opinion, true," Gandhi said.

Before addressing questions at the press conference, Gandhi made a brief presentation showcasing the pattern of alleged election fraud in Mahadevpura Assembly segment of Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha constituency during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

He cited the analysis of data obtained from the ECI to make explosive claims of "huge criminal fraud" in polls perpetrated by the BJP through the ECI, and asserted that this was a "crime" against the Constitution.

The Congress leader also said that the judiciary needs to get involved in this because the democracy that "we love so much does not exist".

Gandhi said what his party had collected was "criminal evidence" and alleged that the Election Commission was busy destroying such proof across the country.

Tagging his entire press conference video, Gandhi said on X, "Vote Chori is an Atom Bomb on our democracy."