Fadnavis slams Rahul Gandhi over allegations about irregularities in Maharashtra assembly polls
Pune(PTI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday rejected Rahul Gandhi's allegations about irregularities in the state assembly elections, saying instead of wiping the dust off his face, the Congress leader was cleaning the mirror.
Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, on Friday claimed that more voters were added in Maharashtra in five months between the Lok Sabha and state polls than in five years before.
Between the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the 2024 Vidhan Sabha elections, 39 lakh new voters were added in just five months, he claimed.
Speaking at the Jaipur Dialogues Deccan Summit Pune 2025, the chief minister dismissed reports about discontent in the Mahayuti and Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde's stand in the ruling alliance.
"Shinde has a serious personality. The media is spreading false claims about him being upset," he said.
Fadnavis questioned Gandhi's allegations about irregularities in the 2024 state assembly elections.
"The number of voters keeps increasing in the assembly polls held after every Lok Sabha election. Many people didn't find their name in the voters' list during the Lok Sabha elections. When we followed up on this issue, the Election Commission of India (ECI) launched a campaign, and a large number of new voters were included. Instead of wiping the dust off his face, Rahul Gandhi is cleaning the mirror," he said.
Fadnavis further accused the Congress leader of strengthening urban Naxalism.
"He (Gandhi) expresses distrust in institutions in our system. Due to this, urban Naxals are trying to destroy the public's trust in our democratic set-up. Rahul Gandhi is strengthening them," he said.
The chief minister said the Mahayuti could win the 2024 assembly elections because Maharashtra accepted the "ek hai toh safe hai" slogan.
In the 2024 assembly elections, the Mahayuti coalition of BJP, NCP and Shiv Sena won 230 of the 288 seats in the state. BJP led the pack with 132 seats. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) was reduced to 46 seats, with NCP (SP) and Sena (UBT) getting 10 and 20, respectively.
"We witnessed the first example of 'ek hai toh safe hai' during the Maharashtra elections, and now, we have seen it play out in Delhi as well," he said, referring to the BJP's big win in the assembly elections in the capital.
He claimed that the Lok Sabha elections saw the impact of "vote jihad", which led to a division of votes, and this split cost the BJP 12 crucial seats, including Dhule, where the margin of defeat was merely 4,000 votes.
"During the state elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pointed out how people were being divided along caste lines, which, in turn, emboldened forces seeking to create instability in the country. People noted this and voted accordingly in the assembly elections," Fadnavis said.
Fadnavis rejected Uddhav Thackeray's claim that the BJP had promise him the chief minister's post after the 2019 assembly polls.
"After the poll results were out, the Shiv Sena suddenly held a press conference separately, announcing that all options were open for them. When I tried to contact him (Thackeray), he didn't even take my call," he said.
He claimed that the BJP later found out about NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar's pre-poll understanding with the Shiv Sena.
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‘Bulldozer Justice’ is like bulldozing the Constitution: Justice Ujjal Bhuyan
New Delhi: Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has strongly criticised the practice of demolishing the properties of individuals accused of crimes, equating it to bulldozing the Constitution and undermining the rule of law.
Speaking at the 13th Justice PN Bhagwati International Moot Court Competition on Human Rights at Bharati Vidyapeeth New Law College in Pune, Justice Bhuyan described the trend as "disturbing" and "depressing." He questioned the justification of such actions, often defended as targeting illegal structures, and highlighted their impact on the families of the accused.
"Using a bulldozer to demolish a property is like running a bulldozer over the Constitution. It is a negation of the very concept of the rule of law and, if not checked, would destroy the very edifice of our justice delivery system," he said, as quoted by Bar and Bench.
The practice of ‘bulldozer justice’ gained prominence in Uttar Pradesh under the Yogi Adityanath government in 2017 and has since been adopted in other states. The Supreme Court had previously deemed this approach unacceptable under the rule of law.
Justice Bhuyan emphasised that demolitions impact not just the accused but their families as well. "In that house, his mother stays there, his sister stays there, his wife stays there, his children stay there. What is their fault?" he asked. He further questioned whether it was justifiable to render an accused or even a convicted person homeless through such measures.
On the same day, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, responding to queries about the recent violence in Nagpur, indicated that the government might consider similar measures. "The Maharashtra government has its own style of working… bulldozer will roll when necessary," he said.
Violence erupted in central Nagpur following rumours that a sacred text was burnt during an agitation by a right-wing group demanding the removal of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s tomb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district.
Justice Bhuyan, who was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2023 after serving as Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court, reiterated the importance of upholding due process and warned against actions that undermine constitutional principles.
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