Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday visited the socio-religious organisation Khanquah Rahmani in Munger, Bihar, during his ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. He was joined by RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, CPIML general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, VIP chief Mukesh Sahni and several other leaders.
Rahul spent about half an hour at the Khanquah, meeting Islamic scholars and community leaders. “I always like coming here and meeting the leaders of this famous organisation, which has been working in different fields related to the socio-religious and cultural life of the people,” he said.
Ahmad Wali Faisal Rahmani, the Sajjada Nashin of Khanquah Rahmani, told reporters that their discussion with Rahul focused on the Constitution and the voter registration process. “We spoke about the Constitution not just as a document, but as something that binds all citizens of the country. We also discussed how people can live together in peace and harmony, without hatred,” he said.
Faisal thanked Rahul for taking up the issue of SIR, pointing out that the Election Commission itself has admitted that 65 lakh names are missing from electoral rolls. “Rahul ji is asking whether this is true. It needs to be verified. He is saying the correct thing,” Faisal said. He stressed that real politics is about ensuring people live together in unity. “We always think in terms of votes. But the true politics is how to improve the country and make everyone part of it. That is what makes a nation strong,” he added.
Khanquah Rahmani, one of the most influential Muslim organisations in India, was founded in 1901. Its leaders were active in the freedom movement and in the educational and social upliftment of the minority community. Former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Rajiv Gandhi have visited it in the past, and Rahul himself had visited as a child.
As Rahul’s yatra resumed, thousands of supporters lined the highways with flags, posters and placards. The INDIA bloc leaders travelled in an open-top vehicle, greeted by crowds chanting slogans against SIR and the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government.
Addressing people in Bhagalpur, Rahul accused the government of “stealing votes.” He said, “This anger is against unemployment, inflation, and decades of poverty and migration. This is a revolution against the theft of the right to vote.”
Calling the turnout a people’s movement, he added, “The public has awakened and understood that a government formed by stealing votes never belongs to the people.” He cautioned against attempts by the BJP and Election Commission to deprive poor, Dalit, backward and minority communities of their voting rights.
The yatra covered nearly 52 km in Bhagalpur district, passing through Nathnagar and concluding with a rally at Ghanta Ghar Chowk. It will halt at Naugachia for the night before moving towards Katihar on Saturday.
