Mallikarjun Kharge claims deletion of Congress supporters' names from voters' list in party meeting

He also claimed names are being added in the rolls at the behest of the BJP and it should be prevented at any cost.

New Delhi: Doubling down on the party's campaign against alleged voters' list manipulation, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday alleged that new names are added to the electoral rolls by the BJP just before the elections while names of Congress supporters are struck down or transferred to adjacent booths.

He demanded that this "rigging has to be stopped" at all costs.

Addressing a meeting of Congress General Secretaries and in-charges here, he also claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi failed to protect India’s trade and business interests during his meetings with United State President Donald Trump even as Indians are deported from America in inhuman conditions.

Kharge's assertion on raising the decibel levels on party's campaign against the electoral malpractices comes against the backdrop of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi raising the issue of "abnormal" rise in voters' numbers in Maharashtra between Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. The Election Commission has denied the allegations.

Asking party leaders to strongly counter efforts to alleged manipulation of voters list, he said it is happening large-scale and Rahul had raised the issue in Parliament. 

"A new challenge has arisen in front of us. You know that these days voter list manipulation is being done on a large scale in elections... All of you will realise that these days the names of our supporters are deleted from the voter list or their name is removed and added to an adjacent booth," he said. 

"New names are added by the BJP just before the elections. This rigging has to be stopped at all costs," he said.

Kharge also criticised the hurry in appointing a new Chief Election Commission when the Supreme Court was to hear a petition challenging the mechanism of appointment on Wednesday. 

"By the order of the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice was also added to the selection committee of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). Modi ji removed him as well. The government does not even trust the impartiality of the Chief Justice of the country," he said.

He said Rahul had questioned the utility of the Selection Committee as the LoP's role in it is only to certify what the government chooses to do. 

On deportation of Indians from the US, Kharge said people are being deported from the US in chains and shackles. "Vegetarians are being served non-vegetarian food. Our government has failed in raising the issue strongly," he said. 

He also said the United States' decisions have negatively impacted India through imposing tariffs. The Prime Minister has not opposed this, he said adding, "our government is silently accepting the damage being done to the country. This is an insult to the country and people."