New Delhi (India) October 29: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said demonstrations against the alleged "vote chori" will continue across the nation. He also asked BJP to dissolve Parliament and hold elections with ballot papers if it believes that it will win.
“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 said as per news agency PTI.
A mass protest in Delhi has been scheduled for November 1 by the Congress. The Congress has claimed that the party has removed and deleted names of lakhs of voters from the voter list of minorities and weaker sections.
Kharge Demands Ballot Paper Elections
Kharge was also questioned about the results of the Karnataka Legislative Council elections. In these elections, BJP and JD(S) won all four seats despite the voting being carried out through ballot papers.
“It doesn’t mean that we should leave our demand because they 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?” Kharge said.
The Congress would persist in seeking ballot papers for future polls, he said.
Kharge warned the BJP not to get over confident after the results and asked what would be the worth of candidates winning or losing by a different margin.
“Sometimes it happens when the BJP wins ballot paper-based elections. It does not mean that the BJP has no hold on the Election Commission,” he added.
Modi Targets Congress Over Results
Kharge's comments come as Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a swipe at Congress for drawing a blank in the MLC elections. The party had won no seats till Wednesday night.
Modi said, "MLC elections in 28 seats across 4 big states - Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka. Elections held using ballot papers. Guess how many seats Congress won?" in a post on social media platform X.
PM Modi's mention of ballot papers comes as opposition parties have been raising concerns over the alleged rigging in EVMs and pushing for the transparency of elections.