New Delhi, Aug 7 (PTI) Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday dubbed as "baseless" the claims of "huge criminal electoral fraud" made by Rahul Gandhi, saying the Congress has the habit of levelling allegations after losing elections.
In an exclusive video interview with PTI, Shinde said the MahaYuti of BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP registered a landslide victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections purely on basis of public welfare schemes such as 'Ladki Bahin' and pro-farmers initiatives.
"In the Lok Sabha elections, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi won 30 seats in Maharashtra, while we got 17 seats. Does this mean they (MVA) had stolen the mandate? When you won elections in Telangana and Karnataka did you indulge in EVM rigging or stealing of votes," Shinde shot back when asked about the allegations levelled by Gandhi.
He asserted that the MahaYuti government was committed to public welfare and the people approved of various initiatives taken by the government, which was also reflected in the landslide victory of the ruling alliance.
"When you win elections, the Election Commission is good. When you win elections, EVMs are good. But, when you lose, then you raise allegations and blame everyone. This is a policy where a bad workman always blames the tool. This is why the people have shown the Opposition its place," Shinde said.
The Shiv Sena leader said the allegations levelled by Gandhi are "baseless" and made with the intention of "tarnishing" the image of the Election Commission and the government.
Shinde also hit out at bete-noire Uddhav Thackeray for attending a meeting at the residence of Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
"It is surprising that he (Thackeray) is visiting the residence of the leader of the party that rewarded the person who snatched the voting right of Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray," Shinde said.
He said the Congress had rewarded the then chief election commissioner who disenfranchised Balasaheb Thackeray with a ministerial berth.
"You are meeting people who insulted Balasaheb, you are meeting those people who have insulted Savarkar...who questioned Operation Sindoor and the valour of armed forces," Shinde said.
On the Congress-led Opposition questioning the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, Shinde said the opposition parties have realised that they were heading towards a defeat and hence preparing a ground for it in advance.
"When they see defeat, they start preparing ground for it in advance. They have begun to realise that they are losing the Bihar elections, so they have started attacking the SIR exercise," he said.
"These attempts to create a perception do not succeed always. People are intelligent," Shinde said.
He also hit back at Thackeray for calling him ‘gaddar’ (traitor).
The deputy chief minister said it was Thackeray who had betrayed the peoples’ mandate in the 2019 Maharashtra elections and joined hands with the Congress and NCP.
"The word used by Uddhav Thackeray is an apt description of himself. In 2019, Maharashtra had given a mandate to the Shiv Sena-BJP to form the government. Whom did they align with? The Congress, just for self-interest to become chief minister, to grab the CM's chair. The word he (Thackeray) uses for me -- betrayer, traitor – applies to him to the point," Shinde said.
He said the people of Maharashtra taught the real betrayers a lesson in the 2024 assembly elections.
"They did not even win a mandate to be recognised as the Leader of the Opposition. The people of Maharashtra have put a rubber stamp on the real betrayers of the state through the election results," Shinde said.
He also lashed out at Thackeray for criticizing him for meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
"When I meet Modi ji and Amit bhai, they make a lot of noise and claim that I have gone to meet my masters. We are proud to meet the people who have contributed to the development of Maharashtra. These are the people who brought Balasaheb's dreams to reality by removing Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir and building the Ram Temple in Ayodhya," Shinde said.