SASARAM, Aug 16: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will embark on a ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ across Bihar from here on Sunday, with his party asserting it will fight for the “one person, one vote” principle and not accept the Election Commission becoming a “compartment” of the BJP’s “so-called double engine”.
With the Assembly polls barely three months away, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, along with RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav and other Mahagathbandhan leaders, will undertake the 16-day and 1,300 km-long yatra from Sasaram, which will conclude with a rally in Patna on September 1.
In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said, “16 days, 20+ districts, 1,300+ km. We are coming among the people with the Voter Adhikar Yatra. This is a fight to protect the most basic democratic right – ‘one person, one vote’.” “Join us in Bihar to save the Constitution,” he added.
The ‘yatra’ will be in a hybrid mode, on foot and by vehicle, as was Gandhi’s Manipur to Mumbai Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, party leaders said.
Addressing a press conference at the Indira Bhawan in New Delhi, Congress’ media and publicity department head, Pawan Khera, said, “Whenever Rahul Gandhi ji has set out for a yatra, the democracy of this country has turned a page. ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ will be a historic march. It will prove to be a milestone in the history of our democracy.“We will not accept that the Election Commission becomes a compartment of this so-called ‘double engine’. We are fighting against this and will continue to do so in the future,” he added.
The party has been protesting against the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging the EC’s exercise is aimed at “disenfranchising voters” in Bihar ahead of the Assembly elections due later this year.
The Congress urged the people of Bihar to join the ‘yatra’ for their rights and entitlements so that democracy can get a direction from Bihar. (PTI)
