Rahul Gandhi
NEW DELHI/SASARAM: With Bihar gearing up for assembly polls, leader of opposition in LS Rahul Gandhi is all set to launch the ‘Vote Adhikar Yatra’ from Sasaram in Rohtas district Sunday to highlight the alleged assault on people’s voting rights through the special intensive revision (SIR) of the state’s electoral rolls and to make the battle against “vote theft” a mass movement.Rahul will be joined in the yatra, spread over 16 days, by members of INDIA bloc parties that are part of the “mahagathbandhan” in Bihar, such as RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav. The yatra will culminate with a show of strength at a rally at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan on Sept 1.On Saturday, Rahul on X said, “Sixteen days, 20-plus districts, 1,300-plus kilometres. We are coming among the people with voter rights yatra. This is the right to protect the most fundamental democratic right – ‘one person, one vote’. Join us in Bihar to save the Constitution.”Addressing a press conference in Delhi about the yatra – that starts from south Bihar’s Sasaram parliamentary constituency which is seen as a Congress stronghold – party spokesperson Pawan Khera said the yatra will travel across districts to cover the state and there will be three break days – Aug 20, 25 and 31. Besides Tejashwi, other INDIA bloc partners, which include three Left parties, will also be part of the yatra, he said. CPI (ML) Liberation confirmed to TOI that its general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, along with Karakat MP Raja Ram will be joining Rahul. CPM functionary Subashini Ali will also be part of the yatra. CPI is also part of the INDIA bloc.Khera alleged that SIR had actually exposed the designs of BJP to disenfranchise lakhs of voters, including Dalits, adivasis, minorities, the poor people and the daily wage labourers.He said thanks to the people of Bihar, activists, and Congress and INDIA bloc workers who raised their voice against SIR, the Election Commission has been forced to do the course correction. Khera said, it was only after Supreme Court’s intervention that the EC was compelled to address the concerns of the common people and voters.Khera said the aim of the Yatra was to ensure awareness and alertness among the people so that the Modi govt does not continue with its conspiracy to deny voting rights to the people of Bihar.
