‘Jhooth bole, kauwa kaate’: Devendra Fadnavis slams Rahul Gandhi over voter list manipulation charge; tells him to consult Congress MLAs

NEW DELHI: Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday sharply responded to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s claims of voter list manipulation in the state, urging him to consult his party’s elected MLAs before making baseless accusations.In a post on X, Fadnavis even mocked Rahul saying, “Jhooth bole kauwa kaate.”

Fadnavis highlighted that over 25 constituencies in Maharashtra recorded more than an 8% increase in voter numbers between the Lok Sabha elections and the state assembly polls. Several of these constituencies, he noted, were won by Congress or its allies.He cited specific examples:

Fadnavis slammed Rahul for his communication style, saying he should have consulted his party’s senior leaders like Aslam Shaikh, Vikas Thakre, or Nitin Raut before tweeting such claims. He added that this would have prevented exposing the Congress party’s lack of internal coordination.Backing Fadnavis, BJP MLC Prasad Lad dismissed Rahul’s allegations as expressions of frustration within the Congress. Lad described the claims as attempts to gain publicity and an attack on democratic processes.In his own X post, Rahul Gandhi had accused the Maharashtra assembly polls of irregularities and “vote theft,” citing a media report claiming voter numbers in Nagpur South West increased by over 29,000 in six months.

He alleged that in the CM’s constituency, some booths saw voter surges of 20-50%, with reports of unknown individuals casting votes.Lad countered these claims, questioning the feasibility of such drastic voter number increases and calling for verification of voter registration and turnout figures. He lauded the BJP’s strong grassroots network and emphasized that all voter registration efforts follow democratic procedures.Lad also questioned Gandhi’s timing, pointing out that the Maharashtra elections occurred months ago, and suggested the allegations are politically motivated. He accused senior Congress leaders Nana Patole, Balasaheb Thorat, and Vijay Wadettiwar of feeding Gandhi false information to remain relevant.Prakash Bhoyar, BJP’s campaign chief in Nagpur South West, also refuted the allegations, stating that voter registration drives were conducted by both BJP and Congress candidates and pointing to rapid urban growth in the area as a natural reason for the rise in voters.(With agency inputs)