One Person, One Vote Is EC’s Duty, But They Failed : Rahul Renews Attack Over Alleged Vote Theft

National News: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has once again launched a sharp attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI), this time over the issue of the Special Summary Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. Speaking to the media, Rahul alleged that irregularities in voter lists were not limited to a single constituency but were taking place across multiple seats and at a national level in a “systematic and planned” manner.

“There is not just one seat; there are many,” Rahul Gandhi said. “This is being done in a coordinated way across the country. The Election Commission knows it, and we know it too. Earlier, we did not have evidence, but now we do. We are defending the Constitution. The principle of ‘one voter, one vote’ is at the heart of our democracy, and it is the Commission’s duty to ensure it is upheld. But they have failed in this responsibility. We will continue to protect the Constitution and will not stop.”

Case of a 124-Year-Old Voter

Rahul Gandhi also referred to a bizarre case in Bihar’s Daraunda constituency, where the ECI, during the SIR process, recorded the age of a woman named Minta Devi as 124 years. “This is not an isolated case. Many such examples have emerged. The full picture is yet to be revealed,” Rahul remarked, suggesting that the irregularities were far deeper than currently acknowledged.

#WATCH | Delhi: Lok Sabha LoP and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi says, "We are protecting the Consitution. One Man One Vote is the foundation of the Constitution. It is the duty of the Election Commission to enforce One Man, One Vote, but they have not done their duty. We are… pic.twitter.com/HdSPfXhP2n

— ANI (@ANI) August 12, 2025

Akhilesh Yadav Joins the Criticism

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav also strongly criticized the SIR exercise, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using it as a pretext to disenfranchise voters. “The BJP’s biggest work is plotting and conspiring. The SIR could have been conducted a year ago, but now it is being used to remove names from the voter list on a massive scale,” Akhilesh said.

The SP chief further alleged that the ECI had now sought an affidavit from Rahul Gandhi, but when his own party had earlier raised similar concerns, no action had been taken. “We had submitted an affidavit two years ago about the deletion of 18,000 votes. Not a single officer has been punished till today. If action had been taken against even one district officer, no one would dare to cut votes.”

Violation of Voting Rights

Akhilesh accused the BJP of repeatedly violating people’s rights. “Earlier, they were violating other rights. Now, they want to violate the most fundamental one—the right to vote,” he said. The allegations from both opposition leaders highlight growing political tensions over the transparency of the electoral process, with voter list integrity becoming a new flashpoint ahead of upcoming elections.