BENGALURU: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday said protests against alleged ‘vote chori’ (vote theft) would continue across the country, and challenged the BJP to dissolve Parliament and face elections using ballot papers if it was confident of its electoral performance.
The Congress has planned a mega protest in Delhi on November 1 against vote chori.
It alleged that there was a large scale deletion and exclusion of many voters’ names from the electoral rolls, especially minorities and economically and socially weaker sections.
“Protests will continue against the vote chori and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. What he has done is mischief in the Commission. All parties are supporting the protest,” Kharge told reporters here.
He said the Congress would continue its campaign to raise awareness about alleged electoral irregularities, with a mock Parliament scheduled for Friday and a rally planned around November 1.
Asked whether the CJP would participate in the rally, Kharge replied in the negative.
“We’ll fight, because in democracy, unless you fight, people will not be awakened…,” he said.
Asked about the results of the Karnataka Legislative Council elections, in which the BJP and JD(S) won all four seats despite the use of ballot paper voting, Kharge said his party would continue demanding ballot papers for all the future polls.
“It doesn’t mean that we should leave (our demand) because they (BJP) are winning (MLC polls). Once upon a time, they won only two Parliament seats (when elections were held using ballot papers). Did he (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) say that,” he said.
Kharge cautioned the BJP against becoming complacent over the results, questioning the significance of candidates securing different victory margins.
“Sometimes it happens (when the BJP wins ballot paper-based elections). It does not mean that the party (BJP) has no hold (on Election Commission),” he said, adding that the BJP should not develop an ego over its performance.
“Okay, if that is the case, let them dissolve the Parliament and go (for elections) on ballot paper,” he said.
In the elections for four vacant Legislative Council seats, the JD(S) won the Bengaluru Teachers’ constituency, while the BJP retained the North-East Teachers’, South-East Graduates’ and West Graduates’ constituencies.
