Mallikarjun Kharge
NEW DELHI: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of trying to win the Bihar assembly elections through “vote chori”. He said the NDA’s double engine government would be voted out soon and replaced by a government of the poor, backwards and Dalits.Kharge also targeted Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, saying he once spoke of socialism but is now aligned with the BJP-RSS. “Where are socialist thoughts of Nitish Kumar now when he is sitting in BJP’s lap,” Kharge said. He claimed that the RSS-BJP would eventually dump Kumar.His remarks came after INDIA bloc allies held a march in Patna to mark the end of the ‘Vote Adhikar Yatra’ led by Rahul Gandhi and other Mahagathbandhan leaders. The march, which covered 1,300 km, passed through 110 assembly constituencies across 25 of Bihar’s 38 districts ahead of the upcoming polls.”This Voter Adhikar Yatra was discussed throughout the country. There were attempts to disrupt it but people of Bihar and Mahagathbandhan people did not back down,” Kharge said. “Modi has a habit of ‘chori’—vote chori, paisa chori, protecting those who loot banks,” the Congress president alleged. “Modi is attempting to win Bihar polls through vote chori. Be alert. If you are not alert, Modi and Shah will suppress you,” Kharge added.”This double engine government will not be there after a few months and the new government that will be formed will be of the poor, women, Dalits and backwards,” the Congress chief said.The ‘Gandhi se Ambedkar’ march, which marked the culmination of the yatra, was stopped midway by police at the Dak Bungalow crossing, where leaders addressed the gathering.Leaders present included Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, Vikassheel Insan Party chief Mukesh Sahani, CPI (ML) Liberation’s Dipankar Bhattacharya, CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby, CPI’s Annie Raja, TMC MP Yusuf Pathan, and Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Sanjay Raut.The march began with INDIA bloc leaders offering floral tributes at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi.The ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’, launched by Rahul Gandhi from Sasaram on August 17, was aimed at highlighting the alleged violation of voting rights through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
