New Delhi, June 7 (IANS) Union Minister and BJP National President J.P. Nadda on Saturday lashed out at Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his recent “match-fixing” claims regarding the Maharashtra Assembly elections, terming his article a “blueprint for manufacturing fake narratives.”

Rahul Gandhi’s opinion piece, published in a national daily, has ignited a fresh political controversy, with opposition parties claiming that it exposes the alleged scale of electoral manipulation in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections and points to the Election Commission’s “silence” on critical questions raised by the opposition alliance.

In the op-ed, Gandhi accused the BJP of orchestrating a massive rigging operation, describing it as a systematic assault on democracy. He reiterated allegations he had earlier voiced during his February 3 Parliament speech and a subsequent press conference, claiming that the Maharashtra elections were marred by extraordinary levels of malpractice.

Hitting back on social media platform X, Nadda wrote, “Rahul Gandhi’s latest article is a blueprint for manufacturing fake narratives, owing to his sadness and desperation of losing election after election.”

Substantiating his claims, the Union Minister shared a news article, which detailed “lies” of the Congress leader about the Maharashtra Assembly polls outcome.

“Here’s how he does it, step by step — Step 1: Congress Party gets defeated election after election due to his antics. Step 2: Instead of introspecting, he cooks up bizarre conspiracies and cries rigging. Step 3: Ignore all facts and data. Step 4: Defames institutions with zero proof. Step 5: Hopes for headlines over facts,” Nadda posted, accusing Gandhi of misleading the public.

Gandhi’s article, which he also circulated on social media, claimed that the BJP used a multi-pronged strategy to manipulate the Maharashtra polls. He alleged that it involved tampering with the process of appointing members to the Election Commission, inflating voter lists, and suppressing scrutiny of discrepancies.

The LoP warned that a similar strategy could be deployed in the forthcoming Bihar Assembly elections.

Dismissing the claims as baseless, the BJP chief remarked, “Despite being exposed time and again, he shamelessly keeps peddling lies. And, he is doing this because a defeat in Bihar is certain. Democracy doesn’t need drama. It needs truth.”

–IANS

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