Haryana polls 'stolen', EC colluded with BJP: Rahul claims 25 lakh fake entries in state poll list
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New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday cited electoral list data from Haryana to claim that 25 lakh entries were "fake" and the assembly polls last year were "stolen", as he accused the Election Commission of colluding with the BJP to make them win.
The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said he is questioning the Election Commission and the democratic process in the country and therefore, is doing so with 100 per cent proof.
Gandhi alleged that the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and the two election commissioners colluded with the BJP to ensure its victory in Haryana and claimed that "they are in partnership" with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
'Operation Sarkar Chori' was launched to convert the landslide Congress victory into loss in Haryana, the former party president alleged.
He also alleged that CEC Gyanesh Kumar is "lying" to the people of India when he stated that house number zero is given to homeless people and that is the reality of zero number houses.
Addressing a press conference at the Indira Bhawan here, Gandhi cited the electoral list of Haryana to claim that 25,41,144 were fake voters with multiple examples of duplicate voters, invalid addresses and bulk voters.
"Why is the Election Commission not removing duplicates? It is because if it does so, it would result in fair elections and it doesn't want fair elections," Gandhi said.
"All polls pointed to a Congress victory in Haryana. The five top exit polls said Congress is sweeping. The other thing that was surprising was that for the first time in Haryana, the postal votes were different from the result. In postal ballots, Congress got 73 seats while the BJP got 17 seats," he said.
Gandhi claimed that thousands of people associated with the BJP voted both in UP and Haryana both.
During the presser, Gandhi showed a picture of a woman who appears on the voter list 22 times in 10 booths in the Rai assembly constituency, and said this shows that this was a 'centralised operation'.
He claimed that the picture of the woman used for multiple entries is from Brazil.
She is one of 25 lakh such records in Haryana which is proof of a centralised operation, Gandhi said.
He alleged that there were 25,41,144 'vote chori' entries on the list which are fake in Haryana.
"One in 8 voters in Haryana are fake and despite that the Congress loses by 22,779 votes which was the difference in eight seats," Gandhi said.
"I was in shock, I simply could not believe what we found. I asked the team to cross check multiple times. I want young people, Gen Z to understand this clearly as your future is being stolen," Gandhi said.
He claimed that a plan was in motion to convert a landslide victory of the Congress into a loss in Haryana.
Gandhi also played out a video of now Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, who two days before counting, stated that the BJP would win and "we have a system in place".
"We suspected, once we did Mahadevapura and Aland, that this is not happening in just one constituency but this is being done at the state and national level," Gandhi said
In September, Gandhi had accused CEC Kumar of protecting those who "destroyed democracy" and cited data from Karnataka Assembly constituency Aland to claim that votes of Congress supporters were being systematically deleted ahead of elections.
In August, Gandhi, citing data from the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, had claimed that over one lakh votes were "stolen" through manipulation in Mahadevapura assembly segment in Karnataka.
The Election Commission had, however, dubbed the charges as "incorrect and baseless" and asserted that no deletion of votes can happen without giving an opportunity of being heard to the affected person.
The BJP won 48 seats in the 2024 assembly polls. The Congress, which was predicted to win by many exit polls, won 37 seats. The INLD won two seats while independent candidates bagged three in the 90-member Assembly.
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Deep societal faultlines persist despite 75 years of independence: Justice Ujjal Bhuyan
Judge cites denial of home to Muslim girl, opposition to Dalit women cooking mid-day meals
Hyderabad, February 23, 2026: Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has said that despite repeated affirmations of constitutional morality by courts, deep societal faultlines rooted in caste and religious discrimination continue to shape everyday realities in India.
Speaking at a seminar on “Constitutional Morality and the Role of District Judiciary” organised by the Telangana Judges Association and the Telangana State Judicial Academy in Hyderabad, Justice Bhuyan reflected on the gap between constitutional ideals and social practices.
He cited a recent instance involving his daughter’s friend, a PhD scholar at a private university in Noida, who was denied accommodation in South Delhi after her surname revealed her Muslim identity. According to Justice Bhuyan, the landlady bluntly informed her that no accommodation was available once her religious background became known.
In another example from Odisha, he referred to resistance by some parents to the government’s mid-day meal programme because the food was prepared by Dalit women employed as cooks. He noted that some parents had objected aggressively and refused to allow their children to consume meals cooked by members of the Scheduled Caste community.
Describing these incidents as “the tip of the iceberg,” Justice Bhuyan said they reveal how far society remains from the benchmark of constitutional morality even 75 years into the Republic. He observed that while the Constitution lays down standards of equality and dignity, the morality practised within homes and communities often diverges sharply from those values.
He emphasised that constitutional morality requires governance through the rule of law rather than the rule of popular opinion. Referring to the evolution of the doctrine through judicial decisions, he cited Naz Foundation v Union of India, in which the Delhi High Court read down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, holding that popular morality cannot restrict fundamental rights under Article 21. Though the judgment was later overturned in Suresh Kumar Koushal v Naz Foundation, the Supreme Court ultimately restored and expanded the principle in Navtej Singh Johar v Union of India, affirming that constitutional morality must prevail over majoritarian views.
“In our constitutional scheme, it is the constitutionality of the issue before the court that is relevant, not the dominant or popular view,” he said.
Justice Bhuyan also addressed the functioning of the district judiciary, underlining that trial courts are the first point of contact for most litigants and form the foundation of the justice delivery system. He stressed that due importance must be given to the recording of evidence and adjudication of bail matters.
Highlighting the role of High Courts, he said their supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution is intended as a shield to correct grave jurisdictional errors, not as a mechanism to substitute the discretion or factual appreciation of trial judges.
He recalled that several distinguished judges, including Justice H R Khanna, Justice A M Ahmadi, and Justice Fathima Beevi, began their careers in the district judiciary.
On representation within the judicial system, Justice Bhuyan noted that Telangana has made significant strides in gender inclusion. Out of a sanctioned strength of 655 judicial officers in the Telangana Judicial Service, 478 are currently serving, of whom 283 are women, exceeding 50 per cent representation. He added that members of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, minority communities, and persons with disabilities are also represented in the state’s judiciary.
He observed that greater representation of women, marginalised communities, persons with disabilities, and sexual minorities would help make the judiciary more inclusive and reflective of India’s diversity. “The judiciary must represent all the colours of the rainbow and become a rainbow institution,” he said.
Justice Bhuyan also referred to the recent restoration by the Supreme Court of the requirement of a minimum three years of practice at the Bar for entry-level judicial posts. While acknowledging that the requirement ensures practical exposure, he cautioned that its impact on women aspirants, especially those from rural or small-town backgrounds facing social and financial constraints, would need to be carefully observed over time.
Concluding his address, he reiterated that the justice system must strive to bridge the gap between constitutional ideals and lived realities, ensuring that the rule of law remains paramount.
