Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Saturday shared a spoof video inspired by the film Laapataa Ladies, intensifying the party’s “Vote Chori se Azaadi” campaign against the Election Commission and the BJP.
Posting the video on X, Gandhi wrote: “Chori chori, chupke chupke… ab aur nahi, janta jag gayi hai” (Secretly, stealthily… not anymore, the people have awakened).
The clip portrays a man filing a theft complaint at a police station. When asked what was stolen, he hesitantly replies, “Vote.” The shocked policeman asks how such a thing is possible, before the message appears: “Theft of your vote is theft of your right.” The scene mirrors a sequence from Laapataa Ladies where a husband mistakenly reports his wife being exchanged.
The Congress has been urging citizens to join the campaign, asking them to change their social media display pictures to show support. “On Independence Day, join the movement for freedom from vote theft,” the party posted on X.
The push comes days before Bihar Assembly elections. On August 14, Rahul Gandhi announced the launch of the “Voter Adhikar Yatra” beginning August 17 in Bihar, calling it a direct fight against alleged manipulation of voter rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
“This is not just an election issue—it is a decisive battle to protect democracy, the Constitution, and the principle of one man, one vote,” Gandhi said, urging youth, farmers, and workers to participate.
Earlier on August 7, Gandhi had accused the Election Commission of “choreographing” elections, citing Congress’s claim that over 1 lakh votes were allegedly stolen in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura constituency.
The Election Commission, meanwhile, has asked Gandhi to provide a signed affidavit backing his allegations of “vote theft.”
