Jawaharlal Nehru's election as prime minister despite Sardar Vallabhai Patel gaining majority votes was the first instance of 'vote chori', charged Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The home minister launched a scathing attack against the Opposition Congress during the debate on electoral reforms in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
During his speech, Shah accused the Congress-led Opposition of selective criticism against the Election Commission and Electronic Voting Machines. Shah charged that Congress started questioning the election process and EVMs only after it started losing polls since 2014. "Reason for electoral loss is your leadership, not EVM or electoral rolls," he charged.
Targeting the Gandhi family, Shah charged, "I would like to tell you about three incidents of voter chori. First, after independence, the prime minister of the country was to be elected. Sardar Patel got 28 votes and Jawaharlal Nehru got two. But Jawaharlal Nehru became the prime minister."
"The second 'vote chori' was by Indira Gandhi, when she granted herself immunity after court set aside her election from Rae Bareli. And, the dispute of third 'vote chori' has just reached the civil courts, on how Sonia Gandhi became a voter even before becoming citizen of India," Shah alleged.
Shah said the SIR of electoral rolls is being conducted to ensure a clean voter list, and to remove infiltrators from the roll. "The Opposition wants to normalise and formalise the 'ghuspathiye' (infiltrators) and add them to the electoral rolls," he alleged.
"I want to say to the House and people -- can a country's democracy be safe when the prime minister and the chief minister are decided by 'ghuspathiye'," Shah questioned.
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Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, challenged the home minister to debate with him on his three press conferences in which the Congress leader alleged "vote chori" by the BJP in collusion with the Election Commission.
"I had asked a question yesterday. For the first time in India's history, a decision was taken that election commissioners will be given full immunity. He (Shah) must tell us the thinking behind this. He talked of Haryana, he gave one example, but there are numerous examples (of vote chori)," Gandhi said.
"Let us have a debate on my press conference. Amit Shah ji, I challenge you to have a debate on the three press conferences," Gandhi challenged.
However, the Opposition later staged a walkout from the house during Shah's address. "They walked out over infiltrators. Our policy is 'detect, delete and deport'. Their policy is 'normalise infiltration, grant them recognition, include them in the vote list during election and formalise this," Shah alleged.
