'Script by Salim-Javed': Fadnavis mocks Rahul's 'vote chori' claims; says Congress chief is speaking fiction

NEW DELHI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his allegation of “vote chori” (vote theft) against the Election Commission, accusing him of turning political discourse into scripted theatre. Addressing the media, Fadnavis referred to the Election Commission’s recent statement dismissing Gandhi’s allegations as a “tired script,” and added, “It seems Rahul Gandhi has approached Salim-Javed (screenwriters) and is presenting an entertaining script everywhere. But nothing beyond entertainment is coming out of it. He does not have a single factual point; it is all fiction.”The BJP leader further claimed that the Congress MP was trying to deflect attention from his own failures. “We demanded a comprehensive voter list revision, which has already started in Bihar. Now, Rahul Gandhi is opposing the same revision. What does he want? It clearly shows he doesn’t understand the process, he’s just looking for excuses,” Fadnavis said.Gandhi had on Thursday alleged large-scale manipulation of the voter list in a Karnataka constituency, claiming that over one lakh votes were involved. On Friday, he followed up with a video citing alleged voter fraud across multiple states.Responding sharply on Friday, the Election Commission called the charges “baseless” and drew a parallel with similar 2018 claims made by Congress leader Kamal Nath. “The Court refused to accept Kamal Nath’s petition. Now in 2025, knowing the same arguments won’t hold up in court, they are trying to mislead the public by alleging irregularities in the electoral rolls,” the Commission said in a statement.