Political tensions are escalating in Bihar amid the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists. Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition, and Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD are accusing the NDA government of electoral manipulation, specifically targeting the removal of voters from the rolls. Their voter rights campaign has seen them actively criticizing the central government and the Election Commission.
BJP’s National President, JP Nadda, has responded with a video post. The caption takes aim at Rahul Gandhi, with the statement: “I am still standing where my lie was caught, the truth came out, and I made a fool of myself… I am still standing there.” The video itself features the woman who previously claimed to Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav that her family of six had been removed from the voter list. However, the video now reveals the falsehood of this claim.
The woman, Ranju Devi, had approached Rahul Gandhi during his voter rights campaign to report the alleged removal of her vote. The subsequent investigation proved her claims to be baseless. It was discovered that both Ranju Devi and her family are listed in the voter rolls, and no names had been removed.
According to Ranju Devi, a local ward secretary had informed her that her family’s names were not on the voter list. The secretary allegedly encouraged her to meet Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav and to report the issue. As a result, she presented her complaint to the Congress leader.
Ranju Devi confirmed that upon checking the voter list herself, she found her and her family members’ names. She stated that she had complained to Rahul Gandhi because the ward secretary instructed her to do so. She said she and others in her village tend to believe what they are told. She mentioned that the secretary advised her to tell Rahul Gandhi that six members of her family were missing from the new list, although their names were in the old one. In the video, Rahul Gandhi questioned Ranju Devi about her voting history. When she confirmed she had voted before, Rahul Gandhi expressed surprise, pointing out that this rendered the claim of a missing name illogical.
Social media users have commented that this incident is turning into a PR disaster for Rahul Gandhi. It follows an Election Commission ultimatum and public exposure of the false claims, with one user labeling the event as a scripted PR exercise.