Margao, Oct 18: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday launched one of his sharpest attacks yet on the ruling establishment, warning that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar will “face justice and pay the price” for what he called organised vote chori.
Gandhi, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, was speaking in Margao after joining the Congress’s ‘Goy Rakhon Yatra’, a state-wide outreach march in Goa. Walking shoulder to shoulder with party workers and senior state leaders, he stopped to address a large gathering of supporters who had lined up along the route.
“Gyanesh Kumar implements it, Amit Shah operationalises it”
The core of Gandhi’s speech was a three-way charge he has been building for months. “The entire country knows what is happening,” he told the crowd. “Gyanesh Kumar implements vote chori, Amit Shah operationalises it, and Modi Ji does the whole planning.”
Drawing a contrast between the Congress and the ruling dispensation, Gandhi said the Congress is a protector of the Constitution, and warned the three men that they could not evade accountability. “They know they can’t escape from us,” he said, adding that all three “will face justice and pay the price for what they have done.”
45 defamation cases, but no case over “vote chori”
In a telling aside, Gandhi pointed out that despite having faced dozens of defamation proceedings, nobody has dragged him to court over the vote chori charge. “I have more than 45 defamation cases against me,” he said. “But from every stage when I say Modi does vote chori, no case is filed against me. Because they fear that if a case is filed, it will become a legal hassle and they will be entangled in the mess.”
The line drew loud applause from the crowd, which included party workers carrying placards and banners related to the Congress’s ongoing campaign against alleged irregularities in the voter roll revision process.
Pellet guns remark on education and student protests
Gandhi also touched on education, saying India once had a world-class education system, but the present situation is starkly different. Referring to recent crackdowns, he said pellet guns are now being used against student protesters, a remark that connected his electoral critique with the wider debate over democratic freedoms.
His speech comes at a moment when the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has become the single biggest flashpoint in national politics, triggering protests, police detentions and sharp exchanges between the ruling party and the opposition.
Same day: Jairam Ramesh demands CEC’s resignation
The Goa speech did not come in isolation. Earlier on Sunday, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh accused the Election Commission of enabling “vote chori” by denying political parties searchable electoral rolls for eight years, and demanded the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar along with an immediate suspension of the SIR exercise.
In a post on X, Ramesh argued that the ECI stopped providing searchable voter rolls in 2018, when the Congress found lakhs of bogus voters in Madhya Pradesh, and said the demand was denied for eight years “to enable vote chori”. He also pointed to the ECI’s own order of October 15, 2026, under which electoral rolls will now be provided in searchable format to political parties for the Special Summary Revision (SSR), which has resumed after a gap of two years in 17 states and union territories.
The developments follow a series of ECI directives this week:
- On Thursday, the ECI directed 17 states and union territories to undertake a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls, with January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date.
- On October 15, the poll panel ordered that searchable-format rolls be shared with political parties for the SSR exercise.
- On Saturday, Delhi Police granted the Congress permission for a mega rally at Ramlila Maidan on November 1 as part of its ‘Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao’ campaign, issuing a no-objection certificate covering October 25 to November 3.
BJP hits back
The ruling BJP lost no time in responding. BJP MP Kangana Ranaut defended the Prime Minister’s leadership and criticised the opposition’s protest politics, arguing that global tensions, including the recent violence in France, make strong and decisive leadership essential. Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan alleged that the opposition was turning towards creating unrest because it had failed to secure electoral victories, and said Rahul Gandhi’s political intentions had become clear. Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, meanwhile, backed the demand for regime change if citizens are denied their democratic rights, including the right to vote and protest.
With the November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan now officially cleared and the SIR controversy deepening, the confrontation between the Congress and the BJP over electoral transparency is set to dominate the political calendar in the coming fortnight.
FAQs
Q: What did Rahul Gandhi say in Goa on Sunday?
A: Addressing the Congress’s ‘Goy Rakhon Yatra’ in Margao, Gandhi said PM Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and CEC Gyanesh Kumar will “face justice and pay the price” for vote chori. He said Gyanesh Kumar implements it, Amit Shah operationalises it and Modi plans it.
Q: What is the Congress’s ‘vote chori’ allegation about?
A: The party alleges organised manipulation of electoral rolls, including the deletion of genuine voters and the denial of searchable voter lists to political parties for years. The Election Commission has denied the allegations.
Q: What has Jairam Ramesh demanded?
A: Ramesh has demanded the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar and an immediate suspension of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, accusing the ECI of enabling vote chori.
Q: What is the ‘Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao’ rally on November 1?
A: It is a Congress mega rally planned at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi against alleged irregularities in the ECI’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Delhi Police granted permission for it on October 17.
Q: What did the Election Commission do on October 15?
A: The ECI ordered that electoral rolls be provided in searchable format to political parties for the Special Summary Revision, which resumed after a two-year gap in 17 states and union territories.
Informeia will continue tracking the SIR controversy and the November 1 Ramlila Maidan rally. Stay tuned for updates.
