Kurukshetra, Nov 3 (PTI) The Haryana Congress on Tuesday launched the third phase of its statewide ‘Vote Bachao-Desh Bachao Chaupal’ campaign from Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini’s assembly constituency.
A party statement said that following the ‘Vote Bachao-Desh Bachao’ mega rally held at Delhi’s historic Ramlila Maidan on November 1, the Haryana Pradesh Congress launched the third phase of its statewide ‘Vote Bachao-Desh Bachao Chaupal’ campaign from Mangoli Jather, the ancestral village of Saini located in his assembly constituency of Ladwa in Kurukshetra district.
On this occasion, Congress’ Haryana in-charge Sanjay Dutt, state Congress chief Rao Narender Singh, Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda, and Kurukshetra district Congress president and former MLA from Ladwa Chaudhary Mewa Singh addressed a public gathering.
The campaign will be conducted across Haryana from November 3 to November 25.
“As part of this initiative, chaupals will be organised in villages and at polling-booth levels to educate voters about their constitutional rights and raise public awareness about irregularities in electoral rolls, alleged deletion of votes and concerns relating to transparency in the electoral process,” the party statement said.
Addressing the gathering, Dutt said that the launch of the ‘Vote Bachao-Desh Bachao Chaupal’ campaign from the chief minister’s assembly constituency and ancestral village carries a significant political message.
“The voice emerging from this chaupal today will become a collective public resolve to protect democracy across Haryana,” he said.
“The historic gathering at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on November 1 was proof that the people of the country are uniting to protect democracy, the Constitution and their voting rights. Under the leadership of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and K C Venugopal, the Congress party has given a new direction and renewed energy to this struggle for the protection of democracy at the national level,” he said.
The opposition INDIA bloc on Sunday called for the BJP’s ouster from power over the “vote chori” charge, with Rahul Gandhi asserting that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar will be removed and sent to jail for treason in future and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah will not be allowed to escape the law.
Dutt claimed that the BJP is now attempting to divert public attention from serious questions that it must answer by raising slogans such as ‘Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao’.
“It is a political irony that a party under whose rule the independence and impartiality of constitutional institutions are being repeatedly questioned is now launching a political campaign in the name of protecting democracy,” he said.
Dutt said that questioning the Election Commission is not anarchy.
“Demanding transparency in electoral rolls is not anarchy. Peaceful democratic protest is not anarchy.
“Demanding protection of the vote of every eligible citizen is, in fact, the true spirit of democracy,” Dutt said.
He said that the BJP and the Election Commission must respond with facts to the serious questions raised by Rahul Gandhi regarding electoral rolls and alleged vote theft in the context of the 2024 Haryana assembly elections. These allegations must be subjected to an independent, impartial and transparent investigation, he said.
Dutt said that the Congress party demands that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process be halted, alleged irregularities in electoral rolls be independently investigated, the names of all eligible voters be ensured on the electoral rolls and accountability be fixed regarding the “serious questions raised about the role of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar”.
The demand for his resignation is also linked to this question of accountability, he added.
Dutt said that the chaupal campaign will not remain confined to speeches and political gatherings. Congress workers will verify electoral rolls at every polling booth, activate booth level agents (BLAs) and booth-level workers, listen to citizens’ grievances and provide necessary assistance to ensure that the names of eligible voters are included in the electoral rolls and their rights are protected.
He called upon Congress leaders and workers across Haryana to carry the unity, enthusiasm and fighting spirit demonstrated at Ramlila Maidan to every village in the state. Every Congress worker must consider themselves a ‘Vote Rakshak’ (Guardian of the Vote) and play an active role in this campaign. PTI SUN KSS
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