Rahul Gandhi Warns of ‘Hydrogen Bomb’ Exposé on BJP’s Alleged Vote Theft in Bihar

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi threatened Monday that he would soon intensify his accusations against the BJP for allegedly stealing elections by making more "vote chori" disclosures that would be like a "Hydrogen bomb" and prevent Prime Minister Narendra Modi from presenting his face to the nation.

According to PTI, Gandhi stated that Bihar, being a revolutionary state, has sent a message to the nation regarding "vote chori" and will not tolerate such malpractice. He was speaking at the end of his "Voter Adhikar Yatra" here.

He asserted that the opposition INDIA alliance would not permit the extremists that killed Mahatma Gandhi to again attempt to "murder" democracy and the Constitution.

"We will not let them (BJP) murder the Constitution and that is why we took out a yatra. We got a tremendous response. People came out in large numbers and raised the slogan 'vote chor gaddi chhor' (vote thieves, vacate the throne)," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said at a major public meeting in the heart of the capital here.

PTI reported that this marked the end of the 15-day Voter Adhikar Yatra in poll-bound Bihar, which began on August 17 in Sasaram and culminated in a raucous response from Congress, RJD, and Left party workers who showed their power on Monday's last day in Patna.

Amidst the backdrop of 'vote chori' songs, workers from different Mahagathbandhan components formed a line along the Yatra's 7-kilometre path on the final day, holding flags and chanting slogans in favor of their leaders, creating a fierce mood.

CPI's Annie Raja, TMC MP Yusuf Pathan, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Vikassheel Insan Party chief Mukesh Sahani, CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby, CPI (ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, and other INDIA bloc leaders joined Gandhi.

Ahead of the next state elections, Gandhi and other Mahagathbandhan leaders led a 1,300-kilometer Yatra that went through 110 assembly constituencies in 25 of the 38 districts.

"BJP people showed black flags to us. I want to tell them, listen carefully. Have you heard of anything bigger than an atom bomb? What is bigger than that; it is a hydrogen bomb. In Mahadevapura, we had shown an atom bomb. BJP people, be ready, a hydrogen bomb is coming. People are soon going to find out your (BJP) reality of vote chori," Gandhi said.

"In the coming time, I am guaranteeing you that after the hydrogen bomb comes, Narendra Modi ji will not be able to show his face to the country," the former Congress chief said amid a thunderous applause from the crowds.

Reportedly citing data from the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Gandhi had last month claimed that over one lakh votes were "stolen" through "manipulation" in the Mahadevapura assembly segment in Karnataka, and asserted that "vote chori" is an "atom bomb on our democracy".

CPI's Annie Raja, TMC MP Yusuf Pathan, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Vikassheel Insan Party chief Mukesh Sahani, CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby, CPI (ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, and other INDIA bloc leaders joined Gandhi.

Ahead of the next state elections, Gandhi and other Mahagathbandhan leaders led a 1,300-kilometer Yatra that went through 110 assembly constituencies in 25 of the 38 districts.

However, the BJP ridiculed Gandhi's "hydrogen bomb" assertion, claiming that his "atom bomb" had failed, and charged him of making "irresponsible" remarks that denigrated his role as the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

At the Dak Bungalow crossing, where the leaders of the INDIA bloc spoke to a crowd on Monday, the police broke up the opposition parties' 'Gandhi se Ambedkar' march in the middle of the day.

Kharge attacked Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar during his speech, claiming that the JD(U) leader had previously discussed socialism but had "fallen into the lap" of the BJP-RSS, which would discard him "where garbage is dumped."

Accusing Prime Minister Modi of being a "habitual" of "stealing votes", Kharge alleged that he is attempting to win the Bihar Assembly polls through "vote chori" (vote theft), and asserted that the BJP-led NDA's "double-engine" government in Bihar would be voted out soon, with a new government of the poor, backwards and Dalits being formed.

"Once upon a time, he used to go around and talk about socialism and praise Ram Manohar Lohia and George Fernandes and others. Where did those socialist ideas go? Now you have gone and fallen into the lap of the BJP-RSS." "This BJP-RSS will dump you where garbage is dumped," the Congress chief said, launching a stinging attack on Nitish Kumar.

"This Voter Adhikar Yatra was discussed throughout the country. There were attempts to disrupt it, but the people of Bihar and the Mahagathbandhan did not back down," Kharge said.

"Modi is attempting to win the Bihar polls through vote chori. Be alert. If you are not alert, Modi and (Amit) Shah will ruin you," he claimed.

"This double-engine government will not be there in six months and the new government that will be formed will be of the poor, women, Dalits and backwards," the Congress chief said.

"People in Manipur are dying, while PM Modi is visiting countries across the world," he asserted.

Nitish Kumar was branded the "Bhishma Pitamaha of moral corruption" by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, who claimed that his government was involved in a number of irregularities.

Regarding the particular, rigorous revision of Bihar's electoral registers, Yadav subtly attacked Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, saying that the "two BJP leaders with the help of the Election Commission want to finish democracy" in the nation.

"The Bihar CM is not in a conscious state of mind. He is lacking vision. In fact, the CM does not have a vision for the state. People will oust his government from power in the upcoming assembly polls," Tejashwi claimed.

He also alleged, "The Bihar CM has become 'Bhishma Pitamaha' of 'naitik bhrashtachar' (moral corruption) and he should not speak about irregularities," the RJD leader said.

He was referring to 'Bhishma Pitamaha', who was a central figure in the epic Mahabharata and is considered a statesman and military commander of the Kauravas during ancient times.

The RJD leader also accused Nitish Kumar of "copying" his development plans on several occasions.

"Now, Bihar wants an original CM, not a duplicate one," Yadav said.

Hemant Soren, the leader of the JMM, claimed that the BJP-led NDA was stealing people's rights under the guise of the special intensive revision (SIR) and that the preparation of electoral rolls was being done in accordance with the wishes of the ruling alliance.

He urged the members of the INDIA bloc to stick together in order to overthrow the ruling alliance and accused the NDA government of adopting a "divide and rule" strategy.

Gandhi said, "I want to tell the youth of Bihar, vote chori means 'chori of rights, chori of reservation, chori of democracy, chori of employment, chori of education, and chori of future of youth." Gandhi accused the BJP of conspiring with the Election Commission to engage in "vote chori."

PTI reported that thanks to the state's young and INDIA bloc workers, the Bihar Voter Adhikar Yatra became a historic event.  "We promise that not a single vote in Bihar would be tampered with.  Gandhi declared, "We will do everything in our power to defend democracy and the Constitution."

Rahul Gandhi paid floral tributes to the statue of B R Ambedkar in Ambedkar Park after the INDIA bloc leaders began the march in Patna by presenting flowers to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Gandhi Maidan.