Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 24 : Shiv Sena leader Shaina NC on Tuesday hit out at Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi while dismissing his claims regarding alleged manipulation of the voter list in the constituency of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, saying that his repeated allegations were "baseless".
She said that Gandhi's remarks were indicative of his "lack of knowledge and understanding of the electoral process".
"Rahul Gandhi should be happy when more people register their names in the voter list and when more and more people come out to vote... The work done by the Election Commission is to register new voters. Your (Rahul Gandhi) repeated baseless allegations make one thing clear: you lack the knowledge and understanding of the electoral process and how it works in a democracy."
Her remarks come after Gandhi claimed earlier in the day that the voter list in CM Fadnavis's constituency grew by eight per cent in just five months and labelled it "vote theft."
In a post on X, Gandhi shared a news article demanding the immediate release of machine-readable digital voter rolls and CCTV footage.
The former Congress President claimed that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) reported unknown individuals casting votes in Nagpur South West, where Fadnavis won last year by over 38,000 votes. He also pointed out that the media have also uncovered thousands of voters with no verified address.
"In Maharashtra CM's constituency, the voter list grew by 8% in just 5 months. Some booths saw a 20-50% surge," Gandhi said on X.
"BLOs reported unknown individuals casting votes. Media uncovered thousands of voters with no verified address," the Rae Bareli MP said, alleging, "And the EC? Silent - or complicit. These aren't isolated glitches. This is vote theft. The cover-up is the confession."
"That's why we demand the immediate release of machine-readable digital voter rolls and CCTV footage," Gandhi said in the backdrop of the Election Commission's (EC) revised guidelines on preserving video footage and photographs of elections, reducing the retention period to 45 days.
Meanwhile, Fadnavis sharply rebutted Gandhi's allegations of a manipulated voter list and called it a desperate claim stemming from Congress's defeat in the state.
Fadnavis posted on X, "Jhoot boley kawa kaatey, Kaaley Kawaey se daryo... Rahul Gandhi, it's clear that the sting of your party's humiliating defeat in Maharashtra is growing deeper by the day."He dismissed the claim of manipulation, citing multiple assembly segments across Maharashtra that saw similar or higher voter growth yet were won by Congress or its allies.
Moreover, sources said on Tuesday that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has invited Rahul Gandhi to interact to discuss the issues related to his allegation regarding the Maharashtra Assembly Election held last year.
According to the sources, the letter was sent via email on June 12 and was also received at his residence.