Rahul defending dead voters and infiltrators: BJP chief Nitin Nabin in Rohtak

ROHTAK. BJP national president Nitin Nabin on Sunday told Rahul Gandhi to say sorry to Sikhs for 1984 instead of marching on Delhi over voter lists. He also claimed that 3 crore of the 13 crore names the Congress says were struck off the rolls belonged to infiltrators.

Nabin spoke at the end of the BJP’s “Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao” padyatra in Rohtak, held on Haryana’s Foundation Day. The same day, the Congress-led INDIA bloc held its own rally in the national capital.

‘Any Mandal president can give the account’

Nabin took on the Congress charge that 13 crore votes had been deleted. “Any NDA karyakarta, even a party Mandal president, can give Rahul Gandhi a detailed account of each of these 13 crore votes,” he said.

He gave his own breakdown. According to him, 2.5 crore of these voters had died, 6 crore had moved to other places, and 3 crore were infiltrators. He did not give a source for the figures, which add up to 11.5 crore.

“Why is Rahul Gandhi defending the votes of dead people, and what is his motive?” Nabin asked. “Should the names of those who have shifted not be removed from the rolls?”

On infiltrators, he said, “The people of Haryana know who they are.” He added that the Congress “does not trust 140 crore Indians but places its faith in three crore infiltrators”, and promised that efforts to drive them out of the country would continue.

“If Rahul Gandhi seeks answers on the streets, he will be answered there. If he raises it in the House, he will be answered there,” he said.

‘When a big tree falls’

Nabin linked the Congress protest to the date. “On this very day in 1984, our Sikh brothers were brutally massacred,” he said. “The Congress should have atoned and apologised. Instead, it has taken to the streets.”

He recalled Rajiv Gandhi’s remark after the killings: “When a big tree falls, the earth shakes.” Rahul, he said, should have shown remorse for the Sikh lives lost “as a result of that shaking of the earth”.

What the Opposition says

The INDIA bloc’s rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan was planned against alleged “vote chori” and irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The bloc is also pressing for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Rahul Gandhi, inviting people to join, had written: “Our votes are being stolen, and we will not tolerate this quietly”. The BJP had earlier objected to the date, saying it would hurt Sikh sentiments as it marks the anniversary of the 1984 riots.

Nabin mocked the Delhi turnout. “Despite their big claims, not even 10 per cent of the people they expected will gather in Delhi,” he said. “More people have gathered in Rohtak district alone.”

‘Democracy only when Congress wins’

Nabin accused the Congress of double standards. “When it wins in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka, democracy has triumphed. When it loses in Haryana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal, democracy is suddenly under threat,” he said.

He said the Congress had no internal democracy and was run by one family. “Congress leaders carry copies of the Constitution, but it is the Congress that tore it to shreds,” he said. He cited the Allahabad High Court verdict that set aside Indira Gandhi’s election for misuse of government machinery and barred her from contesting for six years. He also accused the Nehru-Gandhi family of insulting Dr BR Ambedkar and working to defeat him in elections.

Nabin claimed Rahul was acting “at the behest of foreign powers” as part of their “toolkit”. Referring to Communist allies and some Congress leaders who talk of changing the government, he said, “PM Modi is going nowhere and will address the nation from the Red Fort again in 2029.”

He listed the Opposition’s partners as “defeated leaders”: those beaten in Delhi, the Samajwadi Party in UP, the RJD in Bihar, the Congress in Haryana and Mamata Banerjee in Bengal. “Rahul Gandhi lives for himself and his family. PM Modi lives for 140 crore people,” he said.

Modi’s Haryana connection

Nabin quoted the Prime Minister’s recent words to Haryanvi singers: “Although I come from Gujarat, and Varanasi has been my karmabhoomi as an MP, my heart lies in Haryana because its people have given me immense strength.”

The march

The padyatra ran from Chhotu Ram Polytechnic College to D Park in Model Town, where Nabin garlanded a statue of Mahatma Gandhi before addressing the crowd. He greeted the people of Haryana on Foundation Day.

“People ask why democracy needs saving when we have governments from Delhi to every state,” he said. “When the Opposition disrespects the people’s mandate, NDA workers will take to the streets with the people.”

Haryana BJP president Dr Archana Gupta, Union Minister of State Jayant Chaudhary, BJP national general secretary and Haryana in-charge Smriti Irani, and co-in-charge Dr Bhola Singh were present. Nabin had led a similar padyatra in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk on Wednesday as part of the nationwide campaign.