Haryana Congress plans statewide chaupals over ‘vote theft’ claims
The 12–24 November campaign will bring senior leaders together to press for electoral accountability and protection of voting rights
Haryana Congress will hold its ‘Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao’ chaupal campaign from 12 to 24 November.
State leaders will tour Haryana to mobilise support over claims of electoral manipulation and irregularities in voter rolls.
The party has demanded an independent inquiry, restoration of eligible voters’ names and action against election officials.
Haryana Congress will launch a statewide campaign on 12 November to raise concerns over electoral integrity and mobilise public support against what it describes as manipulation of voter rolls and the electoral process.
The ‘Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao – Chaupal Abhiyan’ will continue until 24 November, the party’s Haryana in-charge Sanjay Dutt said on Wednesday.
Dutt and state Congress president Rao Narender Singh will travel across Haryana, holding chaupals to discuss voting rights and the party’s concerns with residents, according to a Congress statement.
Congress said concerns about the credibility of the electoral process had deepened following material presented by Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi concerning suspicious voter entries, duplicate registrations, questionable addresses and other purported irregularities in electoral rolls.
Through the chaupals, the party plans to explain its claims, highlight the consequences of inaccurate or manipulated voter lists and build support for measures to protect eligible voters.
Congress has demanded an immediate halt to the special intensive revision of electoral rolls, describing the exercise as arbitrary and questionable. It has also sought an independent and transparent investigation into its claims of vote theft.
Its other demands include restoring the names of eligible voters it says were wrongfully removed from electoral rolls and fixing responsibility for such deletions.
The party has called for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and a criminal investigation against him.
Congress said the Election Commission must operate independently and impartially, free from political interference, while ensuring that every eligible citizen’s vote is protected.
Senior leaders expected to participate in the chaupals include Haryana Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Congress general secretaries Kumari Selja and Randeep Singh Surjewala, and Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda.
Presenting the campaign as a wider democratic issue, the party said doubts over people’s ability to elect their government went beyond the interests of any single political organisation or election. It pledged to continue pressing for electoral integrity, accountability and protection of voting rights.
With PTI inputs