Nagpur, Sep 27 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday dismissed the Opposition’s allegation of vote theft as baseless and accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of attempting to weaken public trust in constitutional bodies like the Election Commission to sow seeds of “anarchy and chaos”.
Speaking to reporters here, Fadnavis rubbished media reports alleging rifts within the poll panel and asserted that all three election commissioners had clarified in a joint press statement on Saturday that decisions regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) were taken unanimously.
The Congress and several other parties and organisations have demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar after a recent investigation by The Indian Express claimed that two election commissioners formally objected at least 14 times over 10 months to the poll panel’s handling of the SIR process.
Dismissing claims of vote theft, Fadnavis said, “I want to say in very clear words that no votes were stolen. Rahul Gandhi’s mind was stolen. As for that stolen mind, I would request the Prime Minister to form a committee that brings his mind back so that he speaks in the country’s interest. Let him speak correctly, speak the truth.”
He slammed Gandhi, stating that the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition holds the Constitution in his hand but wants to discredit as many constitutional bodies as possible to plant doubts in people’s minds and make them lose faith in these institutions.
“By creating this situation of anarchy, he wants to make people feel that the democratic system that the Constitution established cannot give them justice,” he claimed, calling it Gandhi’s design.
The chief minister accused Gandhi of casting a question mark over every constitutional institution, from the EC to the Supreme Court, the RBI, and the CAG.
“My question is, are the institutions created under Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution so weak that they can be eliminated?” Fadnavis remarked.
“Gandhi wants to bring about anarchy, and on those lines, a certain newspaper prints a news item without any evidence,” he said.
The BJP leader further said that the lies of those levelling allegations against the Election Commission have been exposed after all three poll body chiefs issued a joint statement.
“All three election commissioners have unequivocally said that they took all decisions collectively. All decisions were unanimous, and all the agendas were prepared and discussed, and decisions were taken. No one has a differing view about it. There is no dissent on the file either,” Fadnavis said.
He alleged that Gandhi deliberately wanted to create doubt in people’s minds.
“In a way, his (Gandhi’s) strategy is clear: when you cannot convince people, confuse them. He wants to create this confusion. He is trying to throw the country’s constitutional and democratic system into chaos by sowing confusion,” he claimed.
He also dismissed the upcoming agitation of the Opposition parties Shiv Sena (UBT), Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), Cockroach Janta Party and Congress over alleged SIR irregularities, citing that in the West Bengal election, voters fell sharply in 15 areas because of the SIR, yet the Trinamool Congress won in those constituencies.
Asked about some NDA allies like Lok Janshakti Party’s Chirag Paswan and Telugu Desam Party’s Chandrababu Naidu demanding clarification on the SIR issue, Fadnavis said that if accusations are made against the EC every day, it is natural that it must issue a clarification. PTI CLS ARU
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