Congress Launches Nationwide Signature Campaign Targeting 5 Crore Signatures Against ‘Vote Chori’: G.A. Mir
SRINAGAR, Oct 5: Stepping up its offensive against alleged electoral malpractice, the Congress party has launched a nationwide signature campaign aimed at collecting five crore signatures to petition the President of India against what it calls “Vote Chori”, the theft of people’s votes through systematic manipulation. Announcing the initiative at Omoh, Verinag in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district, All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary G.A. Mir said the campaign is designed to raise awareness about voting rights and mobilize citizens to defend the sanctity of democracy.
Speaking after inaugurating the drive, Mir said the campaign which runs from September 15 to October 15, seeks to highlight and halt what the party alleges is the manipulation of electoral rolls and polling processes through collusion between the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the ruling BJP. “We are aiming to collect 5 crore signatures across the country to present a petition to the President of India. This campaign is awakening citizens to the importance of their vote and sensitizing them to protect their electoral rights, something unprecedented since Independence,” Mir said.
He accused the ruling establishment of orchestrating widespread irregularities in voter rolls, including deletion of genuine voters and addition of fake ones, thereby undermining the democratic process. Citing Bihar as a recent example, Mir alleged that nearly 65 lakh votes had been removed under the guise of voter list revisions, an act he described as “a murder of democracy.” “Vote Chori is a crime, a blot on democracy, and a direct assault on the electoral rights of people. In many areas, votes are being deleted or added arbitrarily, and voters are even being prevented from reaching polling stations,” he charged.
Mir said the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly exposed these systemic manipulations, which, according to him, have been seen in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and now Bihar under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. He reiterated that the Congress, under the leadership of Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, will continue to fight against what it calls the “ECI-BJP nexus” to safeguard voter identity, restore faith in democratic institutions, and uphold free and fair elections.
Describing the signature drive as a people’s movement rather than a partisan campaign, Mir said the initiative is drawing strong public support and grassroots participation. “A powerful start to the Signature Campaign against ‘Vote Chori’ today in Doru Constituency, Anantnag. Hundreds of committed workers joined from my own polling booth to safeguard our democracy. Every signature counts. We will not let our voices be stolen,” he posted on social media.
MLA Nizam Ud Din Bhat, who also addressed the gathering, hailed the initiative as an “indigenous movement” led by Rahul Gandhi to protect the essence of Indian democracy. He said the campaign reflects growing public anger over electoral manipulation and renewed determination to reclaim the democratic process from vested interests.
