All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary G.A. Mir today said that the Congress Party is aiming to collect 5 crore signatures across the country to petition the President of India over alleged “Vote Chori” and electoral irregularities.
Speaking to reporters at Omoh, Verinag in South Kashmir’s Anantnag after inaugurating the signature drive to curb “electoral malpractices,” Mir said the campaign has made people more aware and sensitive about their voting rights.
He informed that the campaign, running from September 15 to October 15, is aimed at stopping what he termed as the theft of votes “orchestrated through collusion” between the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the BJP.
Mir alleged that under various arrangements, around 65 lakh votes have already been deleted in Bihar, describing it as a “murder of democracy.”
“We are aiming for 5 crore signatures to present the petition to the President. Our campaign has made people aware of the importance of their vote and sensitized them to the protection of electoral rights — a first since Independence,” Mir said.
He further alleged that in several parts of the country, votes are being deleted or added, and voters are being prevented from reaching polling booths.
“Vote Chori is a crime, a blot on democracy, and a direct assault on the electoral rights of people,” he added.
Mir said that Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has exposed the system of manipulation, including deletion of genuine voters and registration of fake votes, as witnessed in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and now Bihar under SIR.
He said the Congress Party, under the leadership of Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, will continue to fight the ‘ECI-BJP nexus’ to safeguard voter identity and electoral rights.
“Powerful start to the Signature Campaign against ‘Vote Chori’ today in Doru Constituency, Anantnag! Hundreds of committed workers joined from my own polling booth to safeguard our democracy. Every signature counts! We won’t let our voices be stolen,” Mir wrote on social media.
MLA Nizam Ud Din Bhat also addressed the gathering, describing the campaign as an “indigenous people’s movement” launched by Rahul Gandhi to protect democracy and voter rights.
