NewDelhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the government of plotting to manipulate elections and take away people’s voting rights to remain in power permanently. His remarks came after Union Minister Lalan Singh said that Voter ID cards, instead of Aadhaar cards, would be used to determine beneficiaries of government welfare schemes.
In a post on X, Gandhi alleged that the move could threaten citizens’ fundamental rights by linking access to essential government benefits with electoral rolls, which he claimed were being manipulated. He also warned that people who are “furious with the BJP” could be among the first to face the consequences.
“Modi government minister’s announcement – Benefits of schemes will now be determined not by Aadhaar, but by Voter ID. The conspiracy runs very deep; take your time to understand it,” he said.
In a video shared by Gandhi, Lalan Singh said, ” Now the basis for payment to the beneficiaries will not be the Aadhaar card. The Aadhaar card is now available from organizations in every street. Just ask them, and they will get an Aadhaar card ready for you in five minutes. So, the Aadhaar card will no longer be the basis. For the payment of all the beneficiaries, the biometric and the Epic number, which is the voter ID’s Epic number, will be the basis and the payment will be made based on that.”
Reacting to the minister’s remarks, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha alleged that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was being used to remove the names of millions of people who oppose or criticise the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
He said that if the exercise was not stopped, more names could be deleted from voter lists. Gandhi also claimed that people who are angry with the BJP were being targeted the most.
“Under the guise of SIR, millions of names are being struck off voter lists; if not stopped, even more will be removed. Whose names are being targeted the most? Those who are furious with the BJP.”
Gandhi also accused the government of taking control of electoral rolls and questioned the role of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
“Voter lists should be in the hands of an impartial Election Commission, but now they’re in the hands of Modi government employee Gyanesh Kumar, whose collusion with the BJP in vote theft we’ve caught red-handed with evidence. The preparation is underway to craft such a list where the majority is always BJP’s, and now that very list will decide whether you get scheme benefits or not,” he said.
He further alleged that voter lists were being prepared in a way that would give the ruling party a permanent electoral advantage. Gandhi described the situation as a “hijacked democracy—where the people don’t elect the government, the government selects its people.”
“Name struck, vote gone. Vote gone, rights gone,” Gandhi said.
The Congress leader also alleged that linking welfare benefits to Voter IDs was part of an attempt to manipulate elections and deny citizens their voting rights.
“This isn’t politics to win elections; it’s an arrangement to steal elections and a permanent setup to cling to power. Voting is your right, not a condition. A poor person’s pension cannot be enslaved to their voter card. This isn’t just vote theft; it’s rights theft. We won’t let this happen,” he asserted.
Bureau Report
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