Ex-Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel called CEC Gyanesh Kumar a ‘pawn’ for alleged ‘vote theft’, naming PM Modi and Amit Shah as beneficiaries. He affirmed Congress’s goal is to oust Modi and fight electoral discrepancies publicly.
Baghel Accuses PM Modi, Amit Shah of ‘Vote Theft’
Former Chhattisgarh CM and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel on Saturday called Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar a mere “pawn” in a larger political conspiracy, terming the main beneficiaries of alleged “vote theft” to be Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Speaking to the reporters, he emphasised that the Congress leadership has resolved to take its fight against electoral discrepancies directly to the public. He underlined that the main objective of the party is to oust PM Modi.
“Everything has been decided in the CWC (Congress Working Committee) meeting in the presence of Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi. We will fight this battle until this vote theft is stopped. And he is merely a pawn. Gyanesh Kumar. He is just a pawn. Vote theft is being carried out through him. In reality, the beneficiaries are Modi and Shah. Our fight—while we are certainly fighting against Gyanesh Kumar- the main objective is to oust Modi,” he said.
Congress Demands CEC’s Resignation
Earlier on September 29, the Congress Working Committee passed a set of resolutions at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters, demanding the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, suspension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and restoration of 13 crore 30 lakh names that the party claims have been removed from the rolls.
The party said the developments vindicated Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s warnings about what it termed “Vote Chori”, and cited his concerns over selective enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct, the integrity of EVMs, additions and deletions from electoral rolls, the changed process for appointing the CEC and the grant of lifelong immunity to the CEC.
BJP Hits Back at Congress
However, the Bharatiya Janata Party hit out at the Congress leadership, accusing them of undermining constitutional bodies and questioning the integrity of the Election Commission of India (ECI) instead of introspecting on their electoral defeats. (ANI)
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