India's "Vote Theft" Row: Opposition Alleges Disenfranchisement, ECI Demands Proof, and a 124-Year-Old Controversy
"Vote Theft" Row and Opposition Protest:
The biggest political story currently dominating headlines is the escalating "vote theft" controversy. The INDIA bloc, led by Congress, has been staging protests against the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding alleged discrepancies in electoral rolls, particularly concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar. Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and other prominent opposition leaders were even detained during a march to the ECI office in Delhi. The opposition claims the exercise is designed to disenfranchise voters, while the ECI maintains it's a routine update. A woman from Bihar, Minta Devi, whose age was mistakenly recorded as 124, publicly slammed the INDIA bloc for using her image without consent to politicize the issue.
A major political storm is brewing in India over alleged discrepancies in electoral rolls, with the INDIA bloc accusing the Election Commission of India (ECI) of "vote theft" and staging widespread protests. The controversy centers on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar, an exercise the opposition claims is designed to disenfranchise legitimate voters. However, the ECI has vehemently denied these allegations, calling them a "false narrative" and demanding concrete proof.
The INDIA bloc, a coalition of opposition parties, has been at the forefront of these protests. Prominent leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, participated in a march to the ECI office in Delhi, where they were briefly detained by police. The opposition claims that the SIR process, which involves extensive verification of voter details, is riddled with errors and manipulations, potentially leading to the exclusion of millions of genuine voters, particularly from vulnerable groups. They have raised slogans like "Our vote, our right, our fight" and "Vote Chori Ban Karo" (Stop Vote Theft).
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Rahul Gandhi has been particularly vocal, citing an internal Congress analysis that allegedly found large-scale "vote theft" in Karnataka's Mahadevapura assembly segment through duplicate entries, fake addresses, and bulk registrations. He has repeatedly asserted that this is not his data but "their data" (referring to the ECI's own records).
However, the Election Commission has hit back strongly, calling the "vote chori" narrative a "direct attack on crores of Indian voters and an assault on the integrity of lakhs of election staff." The ECI has demanded that Rahul Gandhi provide a formal, sworn affidavit with proof of his allegations, including the names of electors allegedly wrongfully included or excluded. They have stated that if he fails to do so, he should apologize to the nation for raising "absurd allegations." The ECI maintains that the "One Person, One Vote" principle has been in place since 1951 and that the SIR is a routine exercise to ensure accurate and error-free electoral rolls, addressing issues like urbanization, migration, and the inclusion of new eligible voters.
Adding an unexpected twist to the controversy is the curious case of Minta Devi from Bihar's Siwan district. Minta Devi unexpectedly became the face of the opposition's "124 Not Out" campaign after a data entry error in the draft electoral roll listed her age as 124 years. Opposition MPs wore T-shirts emblazoned with her name and age, using it as a symbol of the alleged discrepancies. However, Minta Devi, who is actually 35 years old, publicly expressed her dismay at being politicized without her consent. She stated that the error was a clerical one, with her birth year mistakenly recorded as 1900 instead of 1990. She quipped that if the government considers her 124, they should provide her with old-age pension benefits. The Siwan district administration has since acknowledged the "typographical error" and confirmed that the correction will be made.
The Supreme Court has also weighed in on the matter. While it has not upheld the petitioners' argument that the ECI lacks the authority to conduct the revision, it has directed the ECI to publish details, including reasons for removal, of all names excluded from Bihar's draft electoral rolls on district electoral officers' websites. The court also ordered that booth-wise lists be physically displayed and widely publicized, ensuring transparency and accessibility for citizens to verify their status.
The "vote theft" row continues to be a hot-button issue, dominating political discourse and setting the stage for intensified debates as Bihar heads towards assembly elections later this year. The exchange between the opposition and the ECI, coupled with viral human-interest stories like Minta Devi's, highlights the ongoing struggle over electoral integrity and voter rights in India.
The biggest political story currently dominating headlines is the escalating "vote theft" controversy. The INDIA bloc, led by Congress, has been staging protests against the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding alleged discrepancies in electoral rolls, particularly concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar. Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and other prominent opposition leaders were even detained during a march to the ECI office in Delhi. The opposition claims the exercise is designed to disenfranchise voters, while the ECI maintains it's a routine update. A woman from Bihar, Minta Devi, whose age was mistakenly recorded as 124, publicly slammed the INDIA bloc for using her image without consent to politicize the issue.
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The INDIA bloc, a coalition of opposition parties, has been at the forefront of these protests. Prominent leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, participated in a march to the ECI office in Delhi, where they were briefly detained by police. The opposition claims that the SIR process, which involves extensive verification of voter details, is riddled with errors and manipulations, potentially leading to the exclusion of millions of genuine voters, particularly from vulnerable groups. They have raised slogans like "Our vote, our right, our fight" and "Vote Chori Ban Karo" (Stop Vote Theft).
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However, the Election Commission has hit back strongly, calling the "vote chori" narrative a "direct attack on crores of Indian voters and an assault on the integrity of lakhs of election staff." The ECI has demanded that Rahul Gandhi provide a formal, sworn affidavit with proof of his allegations, including the names of electors allegedly wrongfully included or excluded. They have stated that if he fails to do so, he should apologize to the nation for raising "absurd allegations." The ECI maintains that the "One Person, One Vote" principle has been in place since 1951 and that the SIR is a routine exercise to ensure accurate and error-free electoral rolls, addressing issues like urbanization, migration, and the inclusion of new eligible voters.
Adding an unexpected twist to the controversy is the curious case of Minta Devi from Bihar's Siwan district. Minta Devi unexpectedly became the face of the opposition's "124 Not Out" campaign after a data entry error in the draft electoral roll listed her age as 124 years. Opposition MPs wore T-shirts emblazoned with her name and age, using it as a symbol of the alleged discrepancies. However, Minta Devi, who is actually 35 years old, publicly expressed her dismay at being politicized without her consent. She stated that the error was a clerical one, with her birth year mistakenly recorded as 1900 instead of 1990. She quipped that if the government considers her 124, they should provide her with old-age pension benefits. The Siwan district administration has since acknowledged the "typographical error" and confirmed that the correction will be made.
The Supreme Court has also weighed in on the matter. While it has not upheld the petitioners' argument that the ECI lacks the authority to conduct the revision, it has directed the ECI to publish details, including reasons for removal, of all names excluded from Bihar's draft electoral rolls on district electoral officers' websites. The court also ordered that booth-wise lists be physically displayed and widely publicized, ensuring transparency and accessibility for citizens to verify their status.
The "vote theft" row continues to be a hot-button issue, dominating political discourse and setting the stage for intensified debates as Bihar heads towards assembly elections later this year. The exchange between the opposition and the ECI, coupled with viral human-interest stories like Minta Devi's, highlights the ongoing struggle over electoral integrity and voter rights in India.
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