From vote chori comes kanoon chori: Rahul Gandhi says laws passed are illegal
Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Narendra Modi government, linking the alleged irregularities in the electoral process to the legitimacy of laws made by Parliament.
“From vote chori comes kanoon chori. Today the vote is gone, the law-making system is gone. If the vote has been stolen, then any law, any institutional change that the lawmakers who have been voted to Parliament through vote chori have made is also illegal,” Rahul Gandhi said.
He also held Gyanesh Kumar responsible for the alleged chaos and claimed that two Election Commissioners had blamed the CEC for it.
His remarks came a day after an investigative report claimed that the two ECs had not been in consonance with the CEC on several issues over the past 10 months during the rollout of the SIR nationwide and alleged that they were kept in the dark.
“Vote is the foundation of our nation and our vote has been destroyed,” Rahul Gandhi said, referring to the reported dissent within the Election Commission.
“Not just attack on vote, it’s the attack on the expression of every Indian,” he said.
Rahul Gandhi further said the Election Commission was responsible for protecting voters’ rights and argued that if the vote was destroyed, the Constitution was not working.
Rahul Gandhi went on to allege that Indian elections are being “rigged” and claiming there is “100% certainty” that the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections were manipulated.
“There is already more than enough information to make this 100% certainty, not 99%, 100% certainty that Indian elections, Lok Sabha elections, 2024 election, Vidhan Sabha elections are all being rigged,” Gandhi said.
Gandhi questioned why anti-incumbency, which he said had repeatedly affected Congress and regional parties, appeared to have disappeared in recent elections.
He cited former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s popularity after the 1971 Bangladesh war, followed by a sharp rise in anti-incumbency within a few years.
“The same exact thing happens to leader after leader after leader. Happens to Congress leaders. Happens to regional parties. But for some reason, it never happens to Mr Narendra Modi. Does not happen to Mr Shah? Does not happen to the BJP?" Gandhi asked.
He cited electoral swings in Haryana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, arguing that the traditional pattern of anti-incumbency had changed.
Gandhi said the Congress had been trying to understand why this was happening and linked the answer to what he described as problems with the electoral process.
“The vote is the foundation of our country,” he said, arguing that the Election Commission is the institutional protector of the vote.
Gandhi said the vote gives the Constitution its power, the Constitution enables laws to be made and laws give rise to institutions.
“If the vote has been destroyed, then our Constitution has been destroyed. It no longer has its power. It no longer functions,” he said.
He alleged that the Election Commission had failed in its responsibility to protect the vote and said he was not making the allegations “in the air”.
“I have shown it with proof,” Gandhi said.
He also referred to election officials and claimed that questions had been raised against Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that his concerns had earlier been ignored.- EndsPublished By: Shipra ParasharPublished On: Sep 24, 2026 17:20 IST
