70 Youth Congress protesters detained in Bengaluru during ‘vote chori’ march

Bengaluru: Seventy people, including Indian Youth Congress (IYC) National President Uday Bhanu Chib, were taken into preventive custody by the police on Saturday when they attempted to march towards the office of the Election Commission here, demanding accountability over alleged “vote chori” and electoral irregularities.

Raising anti-BJP slogans — “Down, down BJP!” and “Vote chor gaddi chhodd!” — the members of the Karnataka Pradesh Youth Congress Committee (KPYCC) staged a protest at Freedom Park here alleging large-scale “vote chori” (vote theft) in elections across various states.

The demonstration comes a day after the Congress alleged “vote chori on a gigantic scale” in the Bihar assembly elections, with Rahul Gandhi vowing an in-depth review of the outcome and saying “we could not achieve victory in such an election that was not fair from the very beginning.”

The protest at Freedom Park here was led by Indian Youth Congress (IYC) National President Chib, IYC In-charge Manish Sharma, KPYCC President Gowda, and saw the participation of several senior Congress leaders from Karnataka, including Labour Minister Santosh Lad and Rajya Sabha MP G C Chandrashekhar.

Speaking to reporters later, Minister Lad said, “Just because they wanted to win elections, they gave Rs 10,000 each to one and a half crore women in Bihar. Apart from that, 65 lakh names have been deleted from the SIR voter list and 20 lakh votes have been added. Today the Prime Minister talks so much about technology and satellites, but the Election Commission has not even provided a digital format of the voter list.

This clearly shows they want to commit fraud and misuse power, and because of this they have come to power.” He alleged that in Maharashtra, in just five to six months after the Lok Sabha polls, the voter list increased by 45 lakh. “If 45 lakh voters can be added in six months, then how many will be added in five years? In Bihar, 65 lakh votes were reduced.” “It shows a clear misuse of power. This increase in vote share has been happening ever since Gyanesh Kumar took charge as the Election Commissioner,” he claimed.

The protesters, who were marching to the Office of the Election Commission in Bengaluru to submit a memorandum seeking an inquiry into the alleged irregularities and steps to ensure transparency in the electoral system, were taken into preventive custody by the police.

“Seventy protesters were taken into preventive custody as they attempted to march towards the office of the Election Commission here. They were taken in police vans. However, they will be released soon,” a senior police officer said.

After being detained by the police, one of the protesters said, “We will hold agitations across the country. In connivance with the Election Commission, BJP is forming governments. This is not acceptable. The Election Commissioner has become a dalal of the BJP. We will not allow the weakening of the country’s democracy.” The Congress party has recently alleged “vote chori” (vote theft) in the Haryana assembly polls 2024, Karnataka and Maharashtra elections.

On Friday, Gandhi said the Congress and the I.N.D.I.A. bloc will conduct an in-depth review of the poll results and make more effective efforts to save democracy.

The ruling NDA decimated the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ in Bihar to retain power, reaffirming Prime Minister Modi's popularity and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's enduring appeal and dealing a body blow to the Congress and ally RJD.

Bihar polls were held over two phases on November 6 and 11.