Rahul Gandhi on Sunday underlined that although he faced several defamation cases for his remarks against BJP ministers, none had been filed against him for his allegations of “vote chori”.
“(Chief election commissioner) Gyanesh Kumar implements the theft of votes. (Union home minister) Amit Shah operationalises it, and (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi orchestrates the entire plan from behind the scenes,” the Congress leader told a rally in Margao, south Goa, before participating in the Goy Rakhonn Yatra (Save Goa March).
“Let me tell you something interesting: I am facing over 45 defamation cases. These include cases filed by Amit Shah and Narendra Modi….
“In every state, I openly say that Narendra Modi does vote chori, yet no case has been filed against me for saying this…. Because they fear that if a case were to be filed — specifically regarding vote chori — it would turn into a full-blown legal matter, and they would get entangled in it.”
Rahul added: “They remove the votes of Opposition parties; they remove the votes of our supporters. They inflate their own vote counts. They shift their own voters from one district to another. They even bring in voters from other states.
“First and foremost, you must be extremely vigilant during the elections. You are the guardians of the Constitution. As Congress party workers, it is your responsibility to catch them if they attempt to steal votes anywhere.”
Rahul’s rally came in the run-up to next year’s Assembly polls in Goa. He accused the BJP government in the state of enriching its favoured industrialists at the expense of Goans.
“In Delhi, we will soon be done with Narendra Modi and Amit Shah…. The work is under way. Their expiry date is approaching,” the leader of the Lok Sabha Opposition said. “I guarantee you this: We are going to deal with Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and the likes of them — they cannot escape….
“Have you seen Modiji’s face lately?... Where has that ‘56-inch chest’ gone? These days, Narendra Modi cannot even stand his ground.”
Most Congress MLAs in Goa have defected to the BJP, and the party now also faces the AAP-Goa Forward Party alliance, which is fighting for the anti-incumbency vote.
Girish Chodankar, credited with stitching together the Congress’s post-poll alliance with the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam and its return to government in Tamil Nadu after 59 years — was appointed Goa Congress chief in May.
In Delhi, Congress campus arm NSUI continued its protest against Gyanesh on Sunday with a march from its office towards Jantar Mantar, which was stalled by police. The Youth Congress will hold a protest on the issue on Monday inside its head office premises in Raisina Road.