'Dhool chehre pe thi, aap aina saaf karte rahe': Devendra  Fadnavis jibes at Rahul Gandhi on allegations against EC

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday launched a scathing attack on Rahul Gandhi after the Congress leader's allegations against the Election Commission of India (ECI), accusing him of consistently misunderstanding the country's mood and misplacing blame.  Devendra Fadnavis attacked Rahul Gandhi by reciting an Urdu couplet about a person with a grimy face trying to wipe clean the mirror.

Speaking to reporters in Hindi, Fadnavis said, "Ta-umr Rahul Gandhi aap yahi galti karte rahe, dhool chehre pe thi aur aap aina saaf karte rahe" (Throughout your life, Rahul Gandhi, you have always made the same mistake; the dust was on your face, but you kept cleaning the mirror).

In response to Gandhi's claims, Fadnavis in his article said the Congress leader has been constantly "insulting" the democratic process and the people's mandate.

"The people have rejected Rahul Gandhi, and in retaliation, he is rejecting the people and their mandate," the BJP leader charged. "It would be more prudent to accept defeat for once and introspect on where you are going wrong, where your connection with the people is lacking, and what you should do about it," he said.

The Congress leader is preparing his excuses for future defeats in the upcoming assembly polls, including Bihar, he charged. The Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP, won the 2024 Maharashtra polls with a thumping majority, defeating the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which includes the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP).

Fadnavis said, "As far as the Maharashtra election is concerned, it was not fundamentally a contest between the Mahayuti and the Maha Vikas Aghadi. There was another factor: The Bharat Jodo Abhiyaan. What was this 'todo' (break) campaign, established under the name of "jodo" (unite), doing?" It was creating misconceptions among the public against all of the country's constitutional institutions, thereby inciting them to fight against the nation itself. This includes the judiciary and the Election Commission, he claimed.

From 1950 until a new law was enacted, the (previous) Congress governments directly appointed the Chief Election Commissioner, Fadnavis said. Out of 26 commissioners to date, 25 were directly appointed by the central government. For the first time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi established a committee that includes the leader of the opposition or the leader of the largest political party (in the opposition), he noted.

Referring to Gandhi's objection to an increase in the number of electors in the 2024 Maharashtra polls whom he called "bogus voters", Fadnavis said the number of young voters is constantly increasing. "Between 2014 and 2019, 63 lakh new voters were added; from 2009 to 2014, 75 lakh new voters were added; and from 2004 to 2009, 1 crore new voters were added. This means that nothing extraordinary happened in 2024," he said.

In 2004, 5 per cent more in the assembly elections than in the Lok Sabha polls. In 2009, 4 per cent more; in 2014, 3 per cent more; in 2019, 1 per cent more; and in 2024, 4 per cent more. So again, nothing new happened in 2024, the CM said. "The claim that the voting percentage suddenly increased is a huge joke. Is Rahul Gandhi unaware that 5 pm to 6 pm is also a polling hour, and everyone present in the queue at the booth by 6 pm is allowed to cast their vote?" he asked.

In the second phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the voter turnout figure given at 5 pm was 60.96 per cent, which was finalised at 66.71 per cent the next day. The increase was 5.75 per cent. "But are you going to hide that fact because you won that election?" Fadnavis said.

Previously, the final voting figures would come late at night; now, the 5 pm figure is released, and the final figure comes the next day, he said. The claim that the NDA won where the voter percentage increased at the last moment is "even more laughable," Fadnavis said.

"Rahul Gandhi gave the example of Kamthi (assembly seat in Maharashtra). But I will provide the examples which he did not. In Madha, there was an 18 per cent increase, where the Sharad Pawar group's candidate won. In Wani, there was a 13 per cent increase, and Uddhav Thackeray group's candidate won. In Shrirampur, a 12 per cent increase, where the Congress won," he said.

Fadnavis said Rahul Gandhi has been constantly "insulting" the democratic process and the people's mandate. "The people have rejected Rahul Gandhi, and in retaliation, he is rejecting the people and their mandate," he said.

"This will only push the Congress party further into a ditch. He needs to introspect on why his own party's MLAs make statements challenging anyone to get an appointment with him within a day. He must be mindful of which direction he is taking the country and what poison he is spreading by constantly raising doubts about the democratic process and constitutional institutions," the CM said.

Fadnavis said the defeat in Maharashtra has hurt Gandhi and his allies. People of Maharashtra will not forgive Gandhi if he continues to insult their mandate, the CM added.

*With Agency Inputs