Modi, Shah Using EC For Vote Rigging: Kharge

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge here on Friday alleged that he, too, was a victim of electoral roll manipulation during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls as he lost the first election in his career from Kalaburagi.

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"I had said this six years ago in 2019 when I lost for the first time in my life after winning 12 elections. They (BJP) did the same thing then too. But we were not aware of it then. They targeted us by rigging votes in every assembly constituency. Now everything has come out in the open. Rahul Gandhi and Congress have very sensitively brought out all these irregularities," he said, addressing the 'Vote Adhikar Rally' at Freedom Park.

"The 2024 election was an election that betrayed the people. Our effort is to save the Constitution in the country, protect the voting rights of people and protect democracy. But Narendra Modi and Amit Shah were trying to win the election through vote rigging, even though people did not vote for them. They are also using the Election Commission for vote rigging," he alleged.

He alleged that Modi has formed the government by threatening other party leaders and workers through ED, CBI and IT. "Though he does not have a majority in many states, he is splitting parties and buying MLAs to form the government. The same thing has happened in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa and Manipur in the past. They have never won elections in these states but came to power. They are still continuing the same trend. We need to teach them a lesson," he said.