Jairam Thakur Targets Congress Over ‘Vote Chori’ N
Mandi, Oct 04: Thousands of BJP workers and local residents participated in the party’s ‘Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy’ march in Mandi on Wednesday, led by former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur.
The march began at Paddal Ground and culminated at Seri Manch, where Thakur addressed a public meeting and criticised the Congress and opposition parties over their allegations of ‘vote theft’. He said the public’s participation reflected its commitment to democratic values and constitutional institutions.
Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, Thakur said the country was progressing in development, good governance and transparency. He alleged that the Congress questioned the credibility of the electoral process whenever election results went against it, and accused the party of misleading people through what he described as a false ‘vote chori’ narrative.
Thakur also criticised Rahul Gandhi over his objections to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. He said the exercise was intended to ensure that ineligible names were not included and genuine voters were not removed. He alleged that the Congress was opposing the process because it could identify and remove the names of illegal immigrants.
Referring to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s proposed protest against the Election Commission, Thakur questioned the rationale behind it, saying that the same electoral process had enabled Sukhu to become Chief Minister. He challenged the Chief Minister to resign if he had doubts about the Election Commission’s functioning.
Thakur further accused the Congress government of failing to fulfil its election guarantees and alleged that development work had stalled in the state. He also criticised the government’s handling of the state’s finances, claiming that despite taking substantial loans, it had failed to deliver adequate development.
Predicting a decisive BJP victory in the next Assembly elections, Thakur claimed that the party would win all 10 seats in Mandi district and return to power in Himachal Pradesh with a strong majority.
Senior BJP leaders, including former ministers Suresh Bhardwaj and Govind Singh Thakur, and BJP MLA and rally convener Rakesh Jamwal, also addressed the gathering. Party general secretary Payal Vaidya, MLAs Vinod Kumar, Inder Singh Gandhi, Dalip Thakur, Puran Chand, Deepraj and Lokender Kumar, Mandi district president Nihal Chand Sharma and Sundernagar leader Hira Lal were among those present.
Samagra Sikhsha
