Gurgaon: Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the BJP of “stealing elections” in multiple states and alleged that constitutional institutions, including the Election Commission and bureaucracy, were functioning under the governing party’s control.Addressing the Sadbhavna Yatra in Khandsa, Rahul claimed that elections in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal had been manipulated by BJP.“They have built a system to steal elections,” the Congress leader alleged. Referring to special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, he added, “Lakhs of names are deleted, lakhs of new names are added. Election Commission and the bureaucracy are under their control. By attacking the democratic system, they have attacked Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution. They have attacked democracy and the rights guaranteed to the people of this country.”Framing the political contest as an ideological battle, Rahul said, “This is a battle of ideologies. On one side is the RSS ideology of hatred and division, and on the other is the Congress party’s ideology of love.”He acknowledged opposition parties had failed to effectively challenge BJP, but said Congress would ultimately emerge victorious. “All other parties have failed to stand against BJP as their leaders fear ED, CBI and income tax. In the end, only Congress will stand and Congress will defeat Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and BJP,” he said.Taking aim at the Modi govt’s economic policies, Rahul accused the Centre of favouring a handful of industrialists while unemployment and economic distress deepen. “The biggest issue in Haryana and across India is unemployment. Young people get degrees from colleges and universities, but they cannot get jobs. Small and medium industries collapsed under the current economic model. Youth are distracted with Instagram and social media instead of being given employment opportunities,” he said.Rahul criticised what he described as a “one-sided” US-India trade deal, alleging India had compromised key national interests under pressure from the United States. “India gave America everything and got nothing in return. India opened its agriculture sector to American farmers by reducing barriers on products such as pulses, cotton and oilseeds. American farmers have mechanised farms and thousands of acres of land, while Indian farmers are struggling on small farms. Indian farmers will be destroyed,” he said.Rahul also brought up the Epstein files, alleging material linked to “Prime Minister Modi” exists in those documents in the US, though he offered no evidence for it.
