Fadnavis flayed Rahul for questioning the democratic mandate given by the people of Maharashtra to the NDA just because his party was vanquished. | File photo
Maharashtra CM Fadnavis slams Rahul for casting doubt on poll outcome
He said the Congress leader was indulging in slander instead of introspection and the people of Maharashtra won’t forgive him for this
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has lashed out at Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over the Congress leader alleging that about 70 lakh voters were added to the electoral rolls in Maharashtra between the Lok Sabha polls and the state Assembly elections last year.
“Introspect instead of insulting Maharashtra! You have insulted the people of Maharashtra, the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, BharatRatna Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Mahatma Phule and Veer Savarkar. You have questioned the democratic mandate given by the people of Maharashtra to the NDA just because your party was vanquished,” Fadnavis said on social platform X on Monday.
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“Instead of introspection, you are indulging in slander. The people of Maharashtra won’t forgive you for this. Apologise Mr Rahul Gandhi!” the chief minister added.
70 lakh voters added: Rahul
Speaking on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address in the Lok Sabha, Rahul alleged that about 70 lakh voters, equivalent to Himachal Pradesh's population, were added to the electoral rolls in Maharashtra between the Lok Sabha and state elections.
“Now, I want to bring to the notice of this House some data about Maharashtra polls. Between the Lok Sabha polls, which the INDIA bloc won, and the assembly elections, the number equivalent to the population of Himachal was added to the voting rolls of Maharashtra,” PTI quoted him as saying.
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“More voters were added in Maharashtra in five months between the Lok Sabha and assembly polls than in five years," the former Congress president said.
Rahul had last month alleged that there is a "serious problem" with the country's election system and that the Election Commission needs to ensure there is transparency in polls.
Maintaining that "something wrong" has taken place in the Maharashtra assembly elections, he had said the Congress and the Opposition have been asking for voter lists of Maharashtra and Haryana elections, which the poll body is refusing to provide.