Congress leader and NSUI national in-charge Kanhaiya Kumar, along with Purnia Independent MP Pappu Yadav, were allegedly blocked by security personnel from boarding Rahul Gandhi’s van during the Mahagathbandhan protest on Wednesday, July 9. The protest was held against electoral roll revision in poll-bound Bihar.
Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav were addressing the gathering when the incident happened, a video of which is now being shared on social media. Video showed Kanhaiya Kumar and Pappu Yadav attempting to climb the van but being prevented by the security guards.
Surrounded by a crowd, Pappu Yadav was seen stumbling and losing his balance while attempting to climb onto the van. He later said that he fell down and hurt his foot but rejected the reports that it was an insult to him.
Speaking with news agency ANI after the protest, Pappu Yadav said, “I fell down and got hurt. One leader from each party was present there, but this is not an insult. Who sees this as what it depends on them….Nothing is greater than the public; it is acceptable to be insulted for them, not just once but even a million times.”
The rally was part of the INDIA bloc’s protest against the Election Commission’s decision to conduct a special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, ahead of the state Assembly elections.
Speaking at the Bihar Bandh rally, Rahul Gandhi said, “The way there was vote theft in the Maharashtra elections, a similar attempt is being made in Bihar.”
Rahul Gandhi also raised questions over the rise in voter numbers between the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Maharashtra, alleging that all newly added votes went to the BJP.
Speaking at the Bihar Bandh rally, Rahul Gandhi said, “Shortly after the Lok Sabha elections, assembly elections were held in Maharashtra and Haryana. In the Lok Sabha elections, the INDIA alliance got a majority in Maharashtra. But just a few months later, in the assembly elections, the INDIA alliance did poorly. We didn’t say much at the time, but we began working on and investigating the matter. The 21st century is the century of data, so we started studying the data. Upon investigation, we found that between the Lok Sabha and assembly elections, approximately one crore new voters were added. In the assembly elections, 10 per cent more people voted. When we checked the origins of these new voters, we were surprised. In every constituency where voter numbers increased, the BJP won. All the new votes went to the BJP.”
