Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 29 Aug: Announcing the ‘vote chori’ campaign against Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government here, All India Congress Committee general secretary in charge of Arunachal Pradesh, Dr A Chella Kumar, accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of hijacking Congress MPs’ seats through “vote theft.”
Kumar was addressing a ‘Vote Chor Gaddi Chhod’ rally organised by the Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC), highlighting rigged elections in both Assembly and parliamentary elections, undermining Indian democracy.
Expressing support to the ongoing ‘vote chori’ issue led by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, he said that the ruling BJP government under the leadership of Modi would never punish BJP CMs, MPs and ministers.
“If Modi’s government was clean then Chief Minister Pema Khandu should have been punished by now,” said Kumar, asserting that the comptroller and auditor general has already submitted the report to the Supreme Court against Khandu in connection with corruption charges. However, tangible judgement is yet to be pronounced.
The first CM of the state, PK Thungon, in his speech underscored the vast geographical expanse of the state,and urged Congress workers to campaign for at least four Lok Sabha MP seats.
Launching a sharp attack on the ruling BJP, former CM Nabam Tuki claimed “destabilizing of the Congress government in the state in 2015.”
The then governor JP Rajkhowa had been sent with a “pre-planned motive” to topple the elected Congress government in Arunachal, he said.
“Rajkhowa destroyed the raaj of the state,” Tuki said, adding that although he fought at both the state and central levels, and even in the Supreme Court, to restore the Congress government, his efforts were in vain.
Raising concern over alleged irregularities in the functioning of electronic voting machines (EVMs) during the previous elections, he claimed that in several constituencies, “despite only about 50% voter turnout, the results reflected 100% voter enrollment in EVMs.”
“Interestingly, during the last general election, from my own constituency at least six to seven already dead persons had cast their votes,” Tuki alleged.
“The matter could have been taken to the SC but I refrained, considering that the jobs of polling agents and others could have been affected if the issue was pursued,” he said.
The rally concluded with calls for renewed unity among Congress workers and a stronger push for safeguarding Arunachal’s democratic and constitutional rights.
