BJP alleges Sonia Gandhi was on voter list before getting Indian citizenship

The BJP on Wednesday (August 13) upped the ante against the Congress in the ‘vote-theft’ row with the saffron party’s IT Cell chief Amit Malviya alleging that former Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s name first appeared in the voters’ list three years before she became an Indian citizen adding that she was still an Italian citizen at that time.

Malviya, who shared a purported image of the related voters’ list in a post on X, further alleged that the irregularity was perhaps the reason why Rahul Gandhi was so keen on “regularising ineligible and illegal voters” and opposed to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

Elaborating further, Malviya claimed that Sonia’s name first appeared in the electoral rolls in 1980, three years before she became an Indian citizen.

“Her name first appeared on the rolls in 1980 — three years before she became an Indian citizen and while she still held Italian citizenship. At the time, the Gandhi family lived at 1, Safdarjung Road, the official residence of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi,” said Malviya.

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'Name added in 1980 revision'

“Until then, the voters registered at that address were Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi, and Maneka Gandhi. In 1980, the electoral rolls of the New Delhi parliamentary constituency were revised with January 1, 1980, as the qualifying date,” he added.

Malviya further stated that Sonia’s name was added during the revision of the electoral roll in 1980.

“During this revision, Sonia Gandhi’s name was added, appearing at serial number 388 in polling station 145. This entry was a clear violation of the law, which requires a person to be an Indian citizen to be registered as a voter,” he said.

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‘Deleted but reappeared again’

The BJP leader further alleged Sonia’s name was deleted in 1982 following an outcry, adding that it again reappeared in the voters’ list in 1983.

“But even her reinstatement raised serious questions. In the fresh revision of the electoral rolls that year, Sonia Gandhi was listed at serial number 236 in polling station 140,” he said.

“The qualifying date for registration was January 1, 1983 — yet she was granted Indian citizenship only on April 30, 1983. In other words, Sonia Gandhi’s name entered the electoral rolls twice without meeting the basic citizenship requirement — first as an Italian citizen in 1980, and then again in 1983, months before she legally became a citizen of India,” added Malviya.

He asked if this was not “electoral malpractice”, then what is? “We are not even asking why it took her 15 years after marrying Rajiv Gandhi to accept Indian citizenship. If this isn’t blatant electoral malpractice, what is?” added Malviya.

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Kharge's call against 'vote theft'

Meanwhile, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge urged citizens to rise in protest against alleged electoral malpractices and vote theft.

"Do not let your right to vote be snatched away. Ask questions, demand answers, this time! Raise your voice against #VoteChori, Free constitutional institutions from the clutches of BJP!” stated Kharge in a post on X.

The development comes at a time when the BJP and Congress are at loggerheads with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar being conducted by the Election Commission (EC) and the grand old party led by Rahul Gandhi has been consistently accusing the poll panel of resorting to “vote theft” in collusion with the BJP. The EC, however, has refuted Rahul’s charges.