Congress to Hold Major Rally at Ramlila Maidan Over ‘Vote Chori’ and SIR Issue

The Congress party will hold a major rally at Ramlila Maidan in the national capital on Sunday, intensifying its campaign over alleged “vote chori” and concerns regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi are expected to address the gathering, according to party leaders.

Ahead of the rally, senior Congress leaders will assemble at the party’s Indira Bhawan headquarters and proceed together to Ramlila Maidan by bus. The event comes days after a heated debate in the Lok Sabha, during which Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Rahul Gandhi clashed over the SIR and alleged electoral malpractices.

Senior Leaders to Attend

Senior Congress leaders, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, K C Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Sachin Pilot, and possibly Sonia Gandhi, are expected to participate. Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy will also attend.

Party spokespersons reported that 1,027 Congress leaders and activists traveled from Jammu on Saturday to join the rally, raising slogans of “vote chore, gaddi chhore” and “Delhi chalo.”

Jharkhand Congress president Keshav Mahto Kamlesh said extensive preparations have been made, with party representatives from across the state arriving in Delhi.

Criticism of Election Commission

Congress MP K C Venugopal criticised the Election Commission of India, saying the country is “lacking a neutral umpire” to conduct elections. He claimed the Congress has collected over five crore signatures nationwide to highlight alleged vote theft and criticised what he called the Election Commission’s inaction on the party’s complaints.

Lok Sabha Tensions: Amit Shah vs Rahul Gandhi

Tensions escalated in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday when Rahul Gandhi challenged Amit Shah over “vote chori” allegations. Gandhi questioned the EC’s neutrality, demanded machine-readable voter lists for all parties, access to EVMs, and amendments to election laws.

In response, Shah defended the SIR process, calling it essential to “sanitise” electoral rolls, and accused the Opposition of double standards, praising the EC after victories but criticising it after defeats. The session ended with Opposition MPs staging a walkout, forcing an adjournment.

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