Nagpur: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis made scathing claims against Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra while speaking in the Maharashtra Assembly. Fadnavis claimed that over a dozen pro-Naxal organisations took part in the countrywide Bharat Jodo Yatra.
He claimed that a meeting was held in Nepal’s capital city Kathmandu in November this year where issues like opposing the electronic voting machines (EVMs) were discussed. Among other issues discussed here were the introduction of ballot papers in Maharashtra and other BJP-ruled states.
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Tuesday 28 Jan. 2025
“A meeting was held on November 15, 2024 at Kathmandu in Nepal. Where it was decided to carry a campaign for ballot in Maharashtra and other BJP ruled states. Not only this, of 180 organisations Bharat Jodo Abhiyan held meetings with during elections, 40 are being named as frontal organisations of urban Naxals),” the Maharashtra CM said.
He also claimed that the 40 organisations organised programmes and published pamphlets for Bharat Jodo Yatra during poll period in the state. Quoting former State Home Minister RR Patil, Fadnavis said that these organisations have also been named as frontal organisations previously.
“On February 18, 2014, during the Manmohan Singh Government, the Central Government mentioned 72 frontal organisations in the Lok Sabha, out of which 7 organisations are from Bharat Jodo; 13 organisations whose names were taken by anti-Naxal operation are related to Bharat Jodo.”
Moreover, Fadnavis also referred to a case being probed in Malegaon and the discourse of vote jihad during Maharashtra elections. In Malegaon, some youngsters complained to cops about ₹114 crore in benami money being deposited into their accounts.
The money deposited was then diverted to the accounts of Siraj Mohammad and 21 others, he said. Fadnavis added that accused Siraj Mohammad used Aadhaar and PAN details of 14 people to create 14 accounts in Malegaon’s Nashik Merchants Cooperative Bank.
The senior BJP leader further claimed that the case is not restricted only to Malegaon and is spread across 21 states with 201 accounts seeing transactions worth around ₹1,000 crore.
Fadnavis said the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had started a probe into the use of “terror funds” in the elections, asserting that there was “evidence of foreign interference”.
Patole dismisses Fadnavis’s claims
Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Friday dismissed Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s claims linking Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra to urban Naxal groups as baseless and politically motivated.
Speaking at Vidhan Bhavan during the Winter Session, Patole said, “The BJP is trying to defame a movement that has garnered immense public support. These allegations are an attempt to divert attention from the real issues plaguing the State.”
Patole challenged Fadnavis to substantiate his claims with evidence. “If the Chief Minister has proof, he should present it to the public. Otherwise, these are just empty statements aimed at spreading misinformation,” Patole said. He added that the Congress is committed to addressing public grievances through peaceful and democratic means, unlike the BJP, which “thrives on creating divisions and distractions.”
