Politics1 min read

'Cutting 130m voters unacceptable': Shashi Tharoor targets EC amid INDIA bloc's rally

By · Via Times of India · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The accusations coincided with the INDIA bloc's "Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao" campaign rally held at Ramlila Maidan. Shashi Tharoor highlighted figures previously raised by Rahul Gandhi, warning that authentic citizens must not be stripped from official voter registers. Prominent opposition figures including Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav, and Farooq Abdullah joined the demonstration to protest against the Election Commission. Meanwhile, the ruling side rejected the allegations, arguing the opposition is attempting to destabilize an elected government.

Key points

  • Opposition parties are escalating pressure on the Election Commission over allegations of…: Opposition parties are escalating pressure on the Election Commission over allegations of widespread, unconstitutional voter disenfranchisement.
  • The INDIA bloc is presenting a united front in New Delhi to actively contest recent elect…: The INDIA bloc is presenting a united front in New Delhi to actively contest recent electoral roll revisions.
  • The ruling establishment has countered that the opposition's claims are designed to incit…: The ruling establishment has countered that the opposition's claims are designed to incite public unrest and destabilize the government.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

NEW DELHI: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday accused the Election Commission of depriving voters of their constitutional rights, alleging that the removal of 130 million names from electoral rolls was unacceptable.Tharoor said the campaign's message is “Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao” as several INDIA bloc leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Mamata Banerjee, Farooq Abdullah, Tejashwi Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav, Supriya Sule, Abhishek Banerjee and KC Venugopal, move towards Ramlila Maidan for the mega rally.

He also questioned the alleged large-scale deletion of voters' names, citing Rahul Gandhi's claim that 130 million voters had been removed.“You cannot cut 130 million voters, as Rahul Gandhi pointed out yesterday. 15 % of the Indian adult population has been cut. This is not acceptable. What we need is an absolutely clean election register. It is better to have one or two dead people there than cut out 130 million real people. This is a real problem,” he said.

The rally comes amid a political confrontation over electoral roll revisions, with the opposition accusing the Election Commission of large-scale voter deletions. The ruling side,…

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