Amid the escalating row over the Bihar SIR, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday shared a video online showing him interacting and having tea with several individuals who were declared “dead” in the revised draft voter list.
Taking a dig at the Election Commission, Gandhi called it a “unique experience,” remarking that he had never before had the opportunity to share tea with ‘dead people.
’Sharing the 3–4 minute-long video, Gandhi wrote, “Life has offered many interesting experiences, but I had never had the chance to have tea with ‘dead people.’ For this unique experience, thank you, Election Commission!”
In the video, the Lok Sabha LoP was seen asking the group how they discovered that the Election Commission had “declared them dead.” “I have heard that you people are not alive — the Election Commission has killed you,” Gandhi remarked. One of the ‘dead’ individuals said they came to know only after the poll panel released a draft list excluding 65 lakh names.
Gandhi then asked one man how many such cases existed. In response, a person claimed that in a single panchayat alone, there were at least 50 similar instances. They further alleged that in RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav’s constituency, many living voters were listed as dead in the records provided by the Election Commission.
The group also told Gandhi that they had appeared before the Supreme Court that very day to demand the restoration of their voting rights. The apex court is currently hearing petitions challenging the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar.
One member of the group appealed to the Congress MP and the Mahagathbandhan alliance to “save Bihar,” to which the LoP assured that efforts were being made to stop electoral malpractices.
The interaction came amid the ongoing controversy over Rahul Gandhi’s “vote theft” allegations against the Election Commission and reported irregularities in Bihar’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.
During a press conference on August 7, Gandhi accused the Election Commission and the BJP-led Centre of “vote chori” (vote theft), citing the Congress’ internal analysis. He noted that while the party had expected to win 16 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka, it ended up securing only nine.
He said the Congress had investigated seven unexpected defeats, focusing on Mahadevapura, where he alleged “vote theft” involving 1,00,250 votes. Presenting the party’s research on voting in the Mahadevapura Assembly constituency in Karnataka, Rahul Gandhi accused the poll process of “vote chori” (vote theft) on a massive scale.
The Election Commission, however, has rejected these allegations and asked Gandhi to submit concrete proof along with a signed affidavit.
In a sharp rebuttal last week, the poll body accused the Congress of attempting to “mislead” the public, drawing a parallel to what it claimed was a similar attempt to mislead the Supreme Court in 2018, referring to a plea filed by veteran leader Kamal Nath.
On Sunday, the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer also asked Gandhi to submit the necessary documents to facilitate an inquiry into his “vote theft” claims.
(With inputs from agencies)
