Day After Rahul Gandhi's Hydrogen Bomb Threat, BJP's Big Pawan Khera Charge

A day after senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi warned that his party is preparing to detonate a "hydrogen bomb" of revelations as part of his 'vote chori' charge, the ruling BJP has hit back by alleging that Congress leader Pawan Khera holds two active voter numbers and said the main Opposition is a "quintessential vote chor". Mr Khera responded that he followed the procedure to get this name removed from the constituency he previously stayed at, and asked the poll body why it was not struck off. 

Sharing photographs of voter lists from New Delhi and Jangpura Assembly constituencies, senior BJP leader and the party's IT department head, Amit Malviya, claimed that Mr Khera holds two active EPIC numbers. Mr Khera, who heads Congress's media and publicity wing, has been at the forefront of the party's campaign against alleged voter list irregularities.   

"Rahul Gandhi screamed "Vote Chori" from the rooftops. But just like he forgot to mention that his mother, Sonia Gandhi, enlisted herself in India's voter list even before becoming an Indian citizen, it has now emerged that Pawan Khera, Congress spokesperson - who never misses a chance to flaunt his proximity to the Gandhis - holds two active EPIC numbers (in Jangpura and New Delhi Assembly Constituencies, falling under East Delhi and New Delhi Lok Sabha seats respectively)," he said in a post on X.

Rahul Gandhi screamed “Vote Chori” from the rooftops. But just like he forgot to mention that his mother, Sonia Gandhi, enlisted herself in India's voter list even before becoming an Indian citizen, it has now emerged that Pawan Khera, Congress spokesperson—who never misses a… pic.twitter.com/IkGFlUhuWk

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) September 2, 2025

"It is now for the Election Commission to investigate how Pawan Khera holds two active EPIC numbers, and whether he voted multiple times-a clear violation of electoral laws," he said.

"As if the criminality of holding multiple votes isn't enough, Pawan Khera is holding malicious press conferences in Bihar to mislead voters, create dissonance, and undermine India's robust electoral process," Mr Malviya said.

"For the record: Rahul Gandhi still hasn't submitted a formal complaint under oath to demand an investigation into the fake allegations he made regarding Mahadevapura Assembly in Bengaluru. Not to mention, the Supreme Court has already dismissed the case alleging wrongdoing in Maharashtra," he said.

Congress, he said, is the "quintessential vote chor". "That is why they want to tarnish everyone with the same brush. For far too long, they mutilated our electoral system, stole mandates by legitimising illegal infiltrators and non-Indians, and are now worried that the Special Intensive Revision initiated by the Election Commission will expose them further. It is time India realises that Rahul Gandhi is dangerous for our democracy," he said.

Mr Khera responded that the BJP has access to voter lists, but the Congress does not get it. "This is exactly what the Congress party is saying. This is the question that we are raising regarding the working of the Election Commission... This list is available with the BJP leaders as well as EC. Congress keeps asking for the list but never gets it," he said.

"I would like to know from the Election Commission that who is being made to cast vote from New Delhi constituency in my name. I want the CCTV footage. I shifted from there in 2016. I followed the procedure to get my name deleted from there. But why is my name still there? This is what Rahul Gandhi has been challenging since 7th August till date... There are hundreds and thousands of such names in every constituency of India. These are being misused," the Congress leader said.

Referring to the Opposition's offensive against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists, he said, "Under SIR, they are legitimising such errors. So, we are objecting to the SIR as it is taking place right now." He added that if someone has two valid voter IDs, the blame lies with the poll body. 

Mr Malviya's attack on Mr Gandhi comes after the Leader of the Opposition, Lok Sabha, warned of dropping a "hydrogen bomb" as part of his 'vote chori' offensive.

"BJP people showed black flags to us. I want to tell them, listen carefully. Have you heard of anything bigger than an atom bomb? What is bigger than that; it is a hydrogen bomb. In Mahadevapura, we had shown an atom bomb. BJP people, be ready, a hydrogen bomb is coming. People are soon going to find out your (BJP) reality of vote chori," Mr Gandhi said after his yatra with ally Tejashwi Yadav and other Mahagathbandhan leaders.

The Congress has accused the BJP of vote fraud in collusion with the Election Commission to steal the public mandate. Both the poll body and the ruling party have trashed the allegations.