Patna, Nov 9 (IANS) Lok Sabha’s Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, on Sunday, launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Election Commission of India, alleging “vote theft”.

Addressing a large rally in Bihar’s Kishanganj, the Congress leader claimed that votes had been stolen in Maharashtra, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, and alleged that attempts were being made to do the same in Bihar.

“Why are these (BJP and EC) people silent about my allegations? Our allegations were correct — that is why these people are silent. They are truly vote thieves,” he said.

He also repeated his charge that BJP leaders were voting from two states and accused PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of stealing elections.

The LoP alleged that after he accused the Prime Minister and the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar of stealing votes, neither had countered him.

“Narendra Modi did not clarify even once. He didn’t say that Rahul Gandhi is lying. The allegations we have made are absolutely correct — that is why they are silent,” he added.

“A thief steals, lives in fear, and eventually gets caught. Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, and CEC Gyanesh Kumar have committed ‘vote theft’ in India, and they are afraid of the people. One day, they will surely be caught,” he said.

Escalating his attack further, Rahul Gandhi accused PM Modi of spreading hatred.

“Narendra Modi is filled with hatred in his blood and thinking. He wants to divide people. But my blood is filled with love — that is the difference between us,” he said.

The Congress leader also said that the youth of Bihar were not getting employment and were being forced to migrate to other states for work.

“Wherever I go in India, I see people from Bihar. You have built places like Dubai with your sweat. If you can build Dubai and Bengaluru, why can’t that development happen in Bihar?” he asked.

Referring to the state’s heritage, Rahul Gandhi said that Nalanda University was once renowned across the world and drew students from Korea, the UK and Japan.

“But today, Bihar is associated with paper leaks. In every exam here, papers are leaked through unfair means,” he alleged.

The polling in Bihar for the first phase — covering 121 constituencies — was conducted peacefully on November 6.

The second phase of polling will take place on November 11 across 20 districts, covering 122 Assembly seats.

The districts going to polls in this phase include West Champaran, East Champaran, Kishanganj, Araria, Katihar, Purnea, Supaul, Madhubani, Shivhar, Sitamarhi, Jamui, Banka, Bhagalpur, Nawada, Jehanabad, Arwal, Rohtas, Aurangabad, Gaya and Kaimur.

The counting of votes will be held on November 14, when the result of who forms the next government in Bihar will become clear.

From the stage in Kishanganj, Rahul Gandhi sought votes in favour of Congress candidate Masawwar Alam (Bahadurganj), RJD candidate Saud Alam (Thakurganj), Congress candidate Kamrul Hoda (Kishanganj) and RJD candidate Mujahid Alam (Kochadhaman).

He appealed to the people to ensure the victory of all Grand Alliance nominees, and claimed that the mood of the Bihar electorate had decisively shifted in favour of change this time.

–IANS

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