Fadnavis Attacks Rahul Gandhi Over ‘Vote Theft’ Allegations
Mr. Gandhi was deliberately creating doubts about constitutional institutions: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis
MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his allegations of “vote theft”, accusing him of seeking to create anarchy rather than participate in the democratic process. “There was no vote theft, but Rahul Gandhi’s brain has been stolen,” Mr. Fadnavis said, taking a dig at the Congress leader.
The senior BJP leader alleged that Mr. Gandhi was deliberately creating doubts about constitutional institutions and attempting to undermine public confidence in them, including the Election Commission of India (ECI).
“Rahul Gandhi gradually wants to defame all the constitutional institutions and subsequently raise a question mark over the Constitution of India because his mindset has become communist and far-left. He wants to bring a far-left government to power in India,” Mr. Fadnavis claimed.
He said the Congress and Mr. Gandhi had failed to secure the support and confidence of the people and were therefore seeking to create a trust deficit in constitutional institutions and systems.
“This is their strategy, but it will not help them as the people understand these things,” he said.
Mr. Fadnavis also said parties that lose elections tend to blame the ECI for their defeat. However, he pointed out that the ECI was not questioned when the Congress won elections in Hyderabad, Punjab and Karnataka.
“It is only when the BJP wins that the Opposition begins to raise questions over the ECI,” he said.
Mr. Fadnavis advised Opposition parties to take their issues before the people, saying that this was the only way to secure public support. He added that the people had rejected the Opposition.
Taking another swipe at Mr. Gandhi’s “vote theft” allegations, Mr. Fadnavis said, “I request Prime Minister Narendra Modi to constitute a probe committee that can find his stolen brain and return it to him.”
On the controversy surrounding the ECI and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Mr. Fadnavis said all three Election Commissioners had clarified that decisions were taken collectively and unanimously after due deliberation. He said the decision on the SIR was also collective and that no dissent had been recorded on the file.
Mr. Fadnavis further said a letter sent to the Cabinet Secretary did not pertain to any policy matter but concerned an appointment on deputation.
Meanwhile, veteran Congress leader and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan demanded an inquiry into the functioning of the ECI and called for the initiation of the process to remove Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Mr. Chavan’s demand followed a report in The Indian Express on alleged differences within the poll panel. The report said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on several occasions over decisions concerning electoral rolls and the SIR.
In a post on X, Mr. Chavan said the Election Commission was a constitutional body established under Article 324 of the Constitution. He also referred to the Supreme Court’s 1995 judgment in T.N. Seshan vs Union of India, which dealt with the powers and role of the Election Commissioners.
Mr. Chavan alleged that Mr. Kumar had taken decisions on behalf of the Commission without consulting his colleagues and questioned whether there had been an abuse of authority. He sought a detailed investigation and said the Opposition should consider moving an impeachment motion against the CEC in accordance with the constitutional procedure.
