New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) Union Minister and senior BJP leader Bhupender Yadav launched a fierce attack on Leader of Opposition (LoP), Rahul Gandhi, during a press conference at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi on Friday, claiming that the Congress leader’s statements lack credibility and should be discounted by “at least 60 per cent.”
“Rahul Gandhi has no credibility left. Whatever he says, we should reduce its value by 60 per cent right away,” Yadav claimed, rejecting LoP Gandhi’s recent claims regarding alleged voter manipulation and inflated electoral rolls in Maharashtra.
The Union Minister criticised LoP Gandhi for stating that the number of voters in Maharashtra rose by one crore between the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections.
Citing official data from the Election Commission, Yadav clarified that the actual difference was approximately 40 lakh voters — making LoP Gandhi’s claim exaggerated by over 60 per cent.
“This shows how disconnected he is from facts. His entire narrative is built on lies,” Yadav claimed.
He also accused LoP Gandhi of allegedly threatening officials of the Election Commission.
“When we come to power, there will be consequences for EC officers. This is what Rahul Gandhi said. Is this the language suited for a Leader of Opposition in a democracy?” Yadav asked.
He accused LoP Gandhi of undermining key democratic institutions including the Election Commission, the Supreme Court, and even the Indian Army.
The BJP leader further pointed to various Assembly constituencies in Maharashtra where voter increases were observed between Lok Sabha and Assembly elctions but the winning candidates came from Opposition parties such as NCP (Sharad Pawar), Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and Samajwadi Party.
“If there was manipulation, how did the Opposition still win?” he asked.
“In Mumbra-Kalwa (149), votes rose by 41,66, with NCP’s Jitendra Awhad emerging victorious. In Bhiwandi, votes grew by 37,535; the seat was won by SP’s Rais Kasam Shaikh. In Khed Alandi (197), over 23,000 new votes were added, where Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Babaji Ramchandra Kale secured the win,” the BJP leader said.
“Parbhani (96) saw an increase of over 15,000 votes, won by Dr. Rahul Vedprakash Patil of Shiv Sena (UBT). In Mohol (SC reserved seat) (247), the voter count rose by over 11,000, and NCP (Sharad Pawar)’s Khare Raju won the seat. Nagpur North (57), where votes increased by over 23,000, was won by Congress’ Dr. Nitin Raut. In Tasgaon (AC-247), with over 11,000 added votes, NCP’s Rohit Patil triumphed. Seat 253 also saw a rise of over 20,000 votes, won by Dr. Babasaheb Deshmukh,” he added.
Referring to past incidents, Yadav stated that LoP Gandhi had previously submitted an affidavit to the Supreme Court and later had to apologise. “He speaks without responsibility, runs from accountability, and doesn’t let Parliament function,” he said.
Yadav accused the Congress of crafting “fake narratives” in the interest of one family—the Gandhis—at the cost of institutional integrity and public trust.
–IANS
sas/rad
