Udupi Congress Launches ‘Vote Chor Gaddi Chhod’ Campaign, Collects Over 1 Lakh Signatures
Udupi: The Congress party in Udupi district has initiated a signature collection drive as part of the nationwide “Vote Chor Gaddi Chhod” (oust the vote thieves) campaign spearheaded by Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi. Ivan D’Souza, Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) and Congress in charge of the Udupi district, announced that the campaign has already garnered 1,11,100 signatures from across the district.
Speaking at a press conference held at Udupi Congress Bhavan on Friday, D’Souza stated that the signature drive will span 1,111 booths throughout the Udupi district over the next 15 days. The goal is to collect at least 100 signatures from each booth, culminating in a total of 1,11,100 signatures to be submitted to Rahul Gandhi.
The “Vote Chor Gaddi Chhod” campaign, led by Gandhi, aims to pressure the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to relinquish power, alleging that the party secured its position through electoral malpractice. The campaign intends to present evidence of such malpractice, both at the state and national levels, to the Election Commission. D’Souza asserted that Rahul Gandhi has exposed these alleged scams with concrete evidence, demanding a thorough investigation into the continuous theft of voting rights by both the central government and the Election Commission.
D’Souza also voiced criticism of the central government and the Election Commission, arguing that a functional democracy requires the ruling party to consider the suggestions of the opposition. He emphasized that a government’s failure to engage with constructive criticism positively undermines the principles of a healthy democracy.
District Congress President Ashok Kumar Kodavoor, along with prominent leaders including Jayaprakash Hegde, Gopal Poojary, Dinesh Hegde Molahalli, Prasadaraj Kanchan, Muniyalu Udaykumar Shetty, Kishan Hegde Kollibailu, and M.A. Gafoor, was also present at the press conference, demonstrating the party’s unified support for the campaign.