
Rahul Gandhi meets 7 ‘dead’ voters removed from Bihar electoral roll
World Desk
Indian Congress Party leader Rahul Gandhi expressed his gratitude to the Election Commission for a “unique experience” after having tea Wednesday with seven voters from Bihar who had been marked as 'dead' following the controversial ‘special intensive revision’ of the state’s electoral list.
"I have had many interesting experiences... but never before have I had tea with 'dead people'. For this unique experience, thank you Election Commission!" he said on X.
Rahuld Gandhi shared a four-minute video of his interaction with the seven affected voters, asking them how they discovered they had been declared 'dead'. One voter said he only learned about it when the poll panel released a draft list of 6.5 million excluded names, reports NDTV.
"But I am alive... I have come to declare I am not dead," he told Gandhi, adding, "And sir, in one panchayat, there are at least 50 others who are not 'dead'." He was also informed that others in a similar situation had not yet attended the meeting.
"They are from Raghopur (RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav's seat) ... there is a flood there," another man said, pointing out an 85-year-old who had also been declared 'dead'.
"They were removed despite having completed the paperwork for re-verification," explained a party worker accompanying them, adding, "They have not published names of people declared 'dead'."
"This is not a clerical error - it is political disenfranchisement in plain sight," the Congress said.
Among those present was a frail elderly woman who had spent hours at the Supreme Court during the voter list hearing.
Rahul Gandhi assured the group he would not allow 'vote chori', a rallying cry of the opposition ahead of the Bihar polls and a Supreme Court case regarding the EC’s ‘special intensive revision’, which could have major legal implications for elections in Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam next year, and Uttar Pradesh in 2027.
Rahul Gandhi has accused the poll panel and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of colluding to commit voter fraud, citing previous incidents in Karnataka and Maharashtra, and warning of a repeat in Bihar. The EC has rejected the allegations and asked Mr. Gandhi, who was detained by Delhi Police during a street protest, to submit evidence along with a signed affidavit.
In a sharp response Friday, the EC claimed the Congress was attempting to "mislead" the public, referring to a 2018 Supreme Court case involving veteran politician Kamal Nath.
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