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Congress launches campaign urging people to ‘register’ against ‘vote chori’
Upping the ante over Rahul Gandhi’s poll rigging claims, the Congress has launched a web page where people can register to demand accountability from the Election Commission of India (ECI) against what it called “vote chori” and express support for his demand for digital voter rolls.
In a post on X in Hindi, Mr. Gandhi said “vote theft” is an attack on the basic democratic principle of ‘one person, one vote’, and asserted that a clean voters’ list is essential for free and fair elections.
“Our demand from the Election Commission is clear — show transparency and make the digital voter list public so that the public and political parties can audit it themselves,” he said.
Mr. Gandhi urged people to support this demand by registering on votechori.in/ecdemand.
“This is a fight to protect democracy,” he added.
Anyone can click on the portal link and download “vote chori proof, demand ECI accountability and report vote chori”.
It also carries Mr. Gandhi’s video in which he reiterated his explosive claims of a “huge criminal fraud” in the polls through collusion between the BJP and the ECI.
He had cited an analysis in a constituency in Karnataka, and said it was "a crime against the Constitution".
The portal also carries a message which states that the vote is the foundation of our democracy but it's under "systematic attack by the BJP, with the Election Commission complicit".
“In just one assembly segment of Bangalore Central, we found over 1 lakh fake voters that helped the BJP win this Lok Sabha seat. Imagine this happening in 70-100 seats - it would destroy free elections,” it says.
“The Congress and INDIA have raised alarms before, including in Maharashtra. Now we have proof. We will fight this vote chori with all our strength. Join us to defend our democracy,” the message on the portal reads.
“I support Rahul Gandhi’s demand of digital voter rolls from the ECI,” the certificate says.
The portal also gives the option to the people of calling on a number and filling the link in the SMS to register.
The certificate bears the signatures of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal and treasurer Ajay Maken.
Several Congress leaders and supporters had registered on the portal and shared the certificates on social media.
With Congress leaders amplifying the “vote theft” allegation of Rahul Gandhi, Election Commission of India officials on Saturday (August 9, 2025) once again pressed the Leader of the Opposition to either sign a declaration to support his claims or apologise to the country for making “fake” charges.
A day after Gandhi and the ECI exchanged barbs over alleged vote theft in at least three states, poll authority officials again insisted for a signed declaration by the Congress leader to substantiate his claims.
Original News on The Hindu
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/congress-launches-campaign-urging-people-to-register-against-vote-chori/article69915930.ece#goog_rewarded
Donald Trump rules out trade talks with India until 50 per cent tariff dispute is settled
US President Donald Trump has ruled out the possibility of trade negotiations with India, until the issue of tariffs is resolved.
“No, not until we get it resolved,” Trump said in the Oval Office in response to a question on whether he expects increased trade negotiations with India since he has announced 50 per cent tariffs on the country.
Last week, Trump had announced 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs on India that came into effect from August 7.
The US president also signed an executive order slapping an additional 25 per cent levy on India for New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil, bringing the total duties to 50 per cent, among the highest imposed by the US on any country in the world.
The additional 25 per cent duty will come into effect after 21 days or August 27.
Responding to the tariffs, the Ministry of External Affairs has said that the targeting of India is "unjustified and unreasonable".
“Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security,” it said.
On the current situation between India and the US, prominent Indian-American attorney Ravi Batra said “much more is at stake” amid Trump’s tariffs.
He described as “unfortunate” that Russian President Vladimir Putin did not accept a ceasefire with Ukraine as wanted by Trump.
"Hurting India is to hurt Russia,” Batra said in a post on X. “But it hurts us too, much more,” he said adding that America needs the Russian president to enter into a “genuine” ceasefire with Ukraine, “free-of-deception by any, and then get President Xi (Jinping of China) and Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi to be American allies too, along with Putin.” “It’s time for a mature reset, or we risk a domino effect that hurts all and unravels multilateralism and gives us unbridled chaos that even creative Wall Street and Federal Reserve can’t handle,” he said.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.
Original Post on : https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/donald-trump-rules-out-trade-talks-with-india-until-50-per-cent-tariff-dispute-is-settled/cid/2116934#goog_rewarded
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Congress launches campaign urging people to ‘register’ against ‘vote chori’
