Mumbai, Aug 24 (IANS) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday hit back at the Opposition over claims of ‘vote theft’, and said that they were crying foul to ‘console and reassure’ their own party workers about their bright prospects, adding there was no substance or evidence in their allegations.

Fadnavis’ retort to ‘vote chori’ claims, came on back of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray extending support to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s ‘vote chori’ claims in the previous Assembly elections.

Speaking to MNS office bearers on Saturday, the MNS chief said the issue of manipulation of votes is not new and he had raised it as early as 2016–2017. He also said that he took up the matter with top leaders like Sharad Pawar, Sonia Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee but the Opposition failed to keep its act together on the issue.

Fadnavis, when asked by reporters about Raj Thackeray’s claims, said that the MNS chief was merely trying to reassure and restore confidence among party workers, amidst rising discontent and discord within the party, over repeated poll defeats.

“He is just consoling himself and trying to make his workers believe that he was actually winning. To prevent their workers from getting scattered, they are using conspiracy theory as cover-up for their defeat,” Fadnavis said.

“All I want to tell them is that unless they introspect on their defeat, they will never win. As long as they keep insulting the public and telling lies, they cannot win,” he added.

Responding to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s claims that Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks more and does less work, Fadnavis reacted sharply and said that these are not the people to be taken seriously.

Fadnavis’ sharp rebuke for the Opposition came while speaking to press during inauguration and laying the foundation of ‘India’s first smart and Artificial Intelligence (AI) village (on pilot basis) at Satnawari, Nagpur’.

Under the project, various digital initiatives have been implemented on pilot project basis, through mobile connectivity. These various projects will make it easier to avail the benefits of village-level schemes related to agriculture, health, education and public welfare.

Days ago, MNS chief Raj Thackeray also met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at his official residence ‘Varsha’.

After the meeting, Raj Thackeray had clarified that the meeting had nothing to do with politics, but it was purely to discuss issues related to town planning and traffic jams.

–IANS

mr/pgh