Nagpur, Sep 27 — Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday trained guns on Congress and Rahul Gandhi over ‘unwarranted and unfounded’ allegations against the Election Commission’s SIR exercise, stating that the LoP may be waving the Constitution but his actual agenda is quite different – “it is to defame and discredit the constitutional institutions.”
Taking a direct swipe at the Opposition’s protest, he remarked that “no votes were stolen during SIR, but it is Rahul Gandhi's mind that has been stolen.”
The Chief Minister, speaking to the press, claimed that Rahul Gandhi's objective was to malign all constitutional institutions and sow distrust in the minds of the public about them.
"He wants to create a system where people lose faith in these institutions, leading to anarchy in the country. Once the public begins to believe that the existing constitutional framework cannot deliver justice, these institutions will be steered towards a leftist ideology. This is a well-planned strategy by Rahul Gandhi," Fadnavis remarked.
He also debunked the Opposition’s claims with some ‘hard data’ and electoral facts.
Citing Bengal elections, the CM remarked, "I want to ask a question. In the West Bengal elections, there were at least 15 constituencies where, despite a massive drop in votes due to SIR, the TMC emerged victorious. If anti-BJP votes were being deleted via SIR, how did the TMC manage to win in those areas?"
He said that as far as SIR is concerned, the process offers an opportunity to everyone, as everyone can get his/her objections regarding every single name addressed at the right forum.
"If the name of an eligible voter has been left out, you can file an objection. If a person's name should not be on the list, an objection can be raised against that as well. Yet, you do nothing during this process, even though you are aware that it is underway," CM Fadnavis said.
The Chief Minister stated that even if there are minor errors—affecting five to ten per cent of cases—resulting in someone's name being omitted, that individual can still file an objection later.
Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi, he said, "You do not want to participate in the process; you only want to create a ruckus. You realise that the public is not accepting you and you lack substantive issues, which is why such manufactured issues are being raised.
Escalating his criticism further, the Chief Minister said, "I want to state very clearly - no votes have been stolen, it is Rahul Gandhi's mind that has been stolen. And since his mind has been stolen, I would like to request the Prime Minister to constitute a committee to find his mind and return it to him, so that he may speak in the national interest—speaking what is right and what is true."