From Bharat Jodo to Fact Todo

Rahul Gandhi has a problem. He has always loved a slogan. From “chowkidar chor hai” to “vote chori,” he believes catchy phrases can substitute for hard facts. It works on Twitter, yes. It keeps TV anchors frothing, yes. But the Supreme Court is not Twitter, and Justices are not Youtubers. They demand affidavits, not hashtags. And that is where the scion of the Congress dynasty finds himself in deep water.

The numbers are hilarious, if you have the stomach for irony. Nearly 1.8 lakh Booth Level Agents were deployed by all parties—55,000 from the BJP, 47,000 from the RJD, 17,000 from the Congress. Between them, they raised all of nine objections. Nine! Meanwhile, common voters—those anonymous nobodies whom no one courts except during elections—filed almost a lakh objections. It seems the people are doing the job that political parties should have done. The agents who signed off on deletions now complain that democracy has been murdered. If this were not so pathetic, it would make for a delightful comedy sketch.

But Rahul Gandhi is not laughing. His “#VoteChori” campaign has returned to bite him. The slogan was his invention, his rallying cry. Even scholars like Sanjay Kumar of CSDS echoed it in their columns. Dragged before the court, he pleaded neutrality, like a guilty schoolboy claiming he hadn’t copied in the exam. Neutrality is the last refuge of the exposed.

The Congress’s game is transparent. Sleep through the process, wake up late, then cry “conspiracy.” It is the political equivalent of turning up for class without homework and blaming the dog for eating it. Only here, the “dog” is the Election Commission, and the “homework” was responsibility towards democracy.

What Rahul forgets is that institutions are fragile things. Erode trust in them long enough, and you may find that people stop believing not just in the Commission, but in the entire system. That is when hashtags turn into hand grenades.

So, what will Rahul Gandhi do now? File an affidavit with evidence? That would be novel—facts and the Gandhis are seldom bedfellows. Or retreat into the safety of slogans, playing the victim card once more? That would be familiar, if boring.

The truth is, democracy in India is not being stolen by invisible hands. It is being undermined by political laziness, by leaders who prefer television studios to courtrooms, and by agents who sign forms without reading them. If Rahul Gandhi is serious, he should stand up in court with proof. If not, he should admit “vote chori” was a cheap jingle, not a constitutional crisis.

But don’t hold your breath. In Indian politics, red faces are rarer than red herrings. And Rahul Gandhi has always had a talent for the latter.