‘Trying to mislead country’: Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini hits back at Rahul Gandhi over vote-theft claim

HAryana chief government minister Nayab Singh Saini on wed attacked Leader of oppositeness Rahul indira nehru gandhi o'er his allegation of “vote theft” and discrepancies in the electoral lists in Haryana. Saini said the Congress leader was trying to mislead the country with lies.Asked about Gandhi's allegations, Haryana CM Saini at first said he did not want to make any comment at the moment, reported PTI."But Rahul Gandhi is trying to mislead the country. The Congress always worked towards pushing the country back," Saini told reporters in Panchkula. He further claimed that the Congress and its "yuvraj" ("prince", referring to Rahul Gandhi) are left with no issues."Today, I do not want to make any comments. When the time comes, I will certainly speak, as they lack any issue," he said. “They (Congress) are misleading the country by speaking lies. People will not join you by spreading such falsehoods.”Also Read | BJP blasts Rahul Gandhi's 'H files' presser: 'Italian' woman's vote in India, 'atom bomb'"You (Rahul Gandhi) are lying. Your four generations ruled the country. Even if after the rule by four generations, the Congress and Rahul Gandhi Baba speak lies, then it is unfortunate," he added.What Rahul Gandhi said In a press conference on Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi, citing electoral data, alleged that 25 lakh “fake” or invalid voters had been listed in Haryana, which has a total electorate of about two crore.“That means one in every eight voters is fake — 12.5%. This includes 5.21 lakh duplicate voters, 93,174 invalid voters, and 19.26 lakh bulk voters,” he said.He claimed the Congress lost the Haryana election last year by just 22,000 votes, calling it a “theft of democracy”. “In one instance, a single photo was used for 223 votes,” he alleged, holding up the example of the Brazilian model’s stock image as evidence.Also Read | Rahul Gandhi says Brazil model voted 22 times as Seema, Sweety in Haryana pollsGandhi had also played a video clip of Nayab Singh Saini, and alleged that he was aware of “vote theft” before the elections. "Please notice the smile on his face and the 'vyavastha' (system) he is talking about," Gandhi had said about Saini in the press conference.The BJP has dismissed Gandhi's allegation of mass vote theft as "false and baseless" and accused the Congress leader of raising questions about the Election Commission to divert attention from his own failures.Meanwhile, unidentified Election Commission officials have said that Gandhi's vote manipulation charge is "unfounded" as neither any appeals were filed against the electoral rolls in Haryana nor was any multiple voting flagged.