New Delhi, August 15 (HS): On Independence Day, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge launched a scathing attack on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing it of orchestrating large-scale irregularities in electoral rolls to secure election victories. Calling it “the biggest threat to Indian democracy,” Kharge warned that the sanctity of free and fair elections was being eroded.

In his Independence Day message, Kharge reminded that “the foundation of Indian democracy is fair elections,” as emphasised by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar in the Constituent Assembly on June 15, 1949. He questioned the role of the Election Commission, alleging that under the guise of “special intensive revision,” opposition votes were being systematically deleted.

Kharge claimed that many living voters were marked as deceased, and cited the removal of 6.5 million names in Bihar, saying the BJP had no objections—indicating who benefitted. He alleged the Commission refused to clarify whose votes were removed and on what grounds, only releasing voter lists after a Supreme Court directive.

Referring to Rahul Gandhi’s previous data-backed claims that tampering in one Lok Sabha constituency altered the poll result, Kharge said similar evidence was now emerging from several others — where Congress led in most assembly segments, but lost due to BJP gains in one decisive segment. He also expressed doubts over the Maharashtra Assembly results, saying the party was conducting a detailed review.

The Congress chief urged party leaders and workers to scrutinise booth-level voter lists, checking for names wrongly deleted, marked as dead, shifted, or duplicated across multiple locations. He alleged that last-minute supplementary lists were sent a day before voting, leaving candidates no time to verify.

“This is not just a fight to win elections — it is a fight to save the Indian Constitution and democracy,” Kharge declared. He announced that Rahul Gandhi will launch a ‘Vote Adhikar Yatra’ from Sasaram, Bihar, on August 17 to champion voter rights.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar