Key Points

The Thackeray camp's mouthpiece, 'Saamana’, said in its editorial that the government is not real, and also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and their governments of vote rigging and misuse of government funds.

“Narendra Modi said that India has the power to change the times. Only he knows the truth, but India has developed the power to steal votes and destroy democracy in the last ten years. Modi, Fadnavis and others have to be given credit for that. Devendra Fadnavis and his government are not seen doing any constructive work. They find it convenient to come to power by stealing votes rather than by doing work and gaining votes, and that is why they are criticising Rahul Gandhi, who has launched a campaign against vote chori. Fadnavis has countered him, alleging that those who are running the vote theft campaign are the real thieves of votes. Fadnavis is upset after the scam worth hundreds of crores in the Ladki Bahin Yojana came to light,” said the editorial.

"Across the state, money was siphoned off from the government treasury to beloved brothers in the name of about 30 lakh bogus beloved sisters. The 'margin' of victory of Fadnavis and his team is only 20-30 lakh votes against the opposition. Therefore, the Fadnavis-led government came to power by stealing the votes of beloved sisters and using government money for that theft. Opposition candidates have submitted complaints to the Election Commission along with evidence about how vote theft took place during the Assembly elections in Panvel, Dharashiv and Shirur Assembly constituencies. However, the Election Commission has not shown the courage to take any action on it. This is proof that the BJP and others won the elections by stealing votes,” alleged the Thackeray camp.

The Saamana took a swipe at Mahayuti leaders, saying that their repeated statements that they got the people's mandate are merely slogans and not a reality. "Fadnavis tied a rakhi which he got from all these beloved sisters and assured that no matter how much fraud there is, the Ladki Bahin Yojana will continue. In this same scheme, thousands of beloved brothers took advantage and embezzled crores of rupees from the government treasury," the editorial mentioned.

“Fadnavis and his team have been working to embezzle government funds and publicise the embezzlement. The Modi-Shah combine is bringing a bill to detain the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers and ministers who are accused of crimes. The Chief Minister and two Deputy Chief Ministers of Maharashtra fit within the ambit of this law. Former Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe was arrested on Friday. Wickremesinghe is accused of misusing government funds while in office. This news is here to bring to the notice that the Prime Minister of India and the rulers of Maharashtra are squandering government funds for political gains. A case needs to be registered and action should be taken against all of them," demanded Uddhav Thackeray's party in the editorial.

The Thackeray camp alleged that the BJP-led government at the Centre has "looted" the country's treasury for cronies. "Fadnavis and his two Dy CMs are looting the state through all kinds of tenders, starting from the Ladki Bahin Yojana," the editorial said.

“However, since they came to power on the strength of vote chori, Fadnavis and others stood up to blatantly support it. The maximum 'benefit' of the bogus Ladki Bahin was taken by both the Deputy Chief Ministers and Ministers to win the elections. In the Assembly elections, the Ladki Bahin Yojana funds were given to whoever asked for them without any scrutiny, as the government did not even differentiate between men and women. This means that the government's intentions were not clear. In this way, Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde, Ajit Pawar and others embezzled at least Rs 400 crore from the government treasury to steal votes through the bogus beloved sisters. Modi-Shah should sack all three of them for this crime and take legal action, but the Constitution Amendment Bill that the Modi government is bringing to 'arrest' the Chief Minister and Ministers is only a political one with a sole objective to harass the opposition," claimed the Thackeray camp.

Further, the editorial accused CM Fadnavis, and Dy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar of being beneficiaries of the bogus beloved sisters, saying that the Mahayuti government must be considered unconstitutional, illegal, and corrupt.

“However, Fadnavis is celebrating government programmes where the beneficiaries, sisters and brothers, who have been proven to be bogus, tie rakhis. Women must be empowered. Fadnavis is right in saying that if women are empowered, the family will be empowered, but making women bogus beneficiaries and getting votes in return is not women's empowerment. This will undermine the ability and strength of women to take the leap. Empowerment is defined as women standing on their own feet, creating employment and small industries for them, making women self-respecting and self-reliant. Even when women are ineligible, buying or stealing their votes in exchange for Rs 1,500 and forming a government is a fraud on those women and the state,” claimed the editorial.

The Thackeray camp has reiterated in the editorial that the Mahayuti government has not received a real mandate from the voters but came to power through 'vote chori', and termed it not a “real” government.

- IANS