Patna (Bihar) [India], January 8 (ANI): Union Minister Nityanand Rai on Sunday criticised Lok Sabha LoP and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi over his allegations against the Election Commission of India (ECI), saying that he himself doesn't know what he says.

'Rahul Gandhi himself doesn't know what he says,' Rai told reporters in Patna.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis launched a scathing attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of consistently misunderstanding the country's mood and misplacing blame.

Speaking to mediapersons, Fadnavis said, 'Ta-umr Rahul Gandhi aap yahi galti karte rahe, dhool chehre pe thi aur aap aina saaf karte rahe' (Throughout your life, Rahul Gandhi, you have always made the same mistake; the dust was on your face, but you kept cleaning the mirror).

On Saturday, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Maharashtra assembly election held in November 2024 was 'rigged' and claimed the same could happen in the upcoming Bihar assembly polls.

Earlier, in a post on X, Gandhi shared his article published in a newspaper, explaining the 'rigging' in the Maharashtra assembly polls.' Maharashtra assembly elections in 2024 were a blueprint for rigging democracy. My article shows how this happened, step by step,' Gandhi said on X.

The former Congress President explained a five-point process. He said that step one includes rigging the panel that appoints the Election Commission, followed by adding fake voters to the electoral roll.

He further claimed that the next steps include inflating the voter turnout, targeting the bogus voting exactly where the BJP needs to win and hiding the evidence.'Step 1: Rig the panel for appointing the Election Commission; Step 2: Add fake voters to the roll; Step 3: Inflate voter turnout; Step 4: Target the bogus voting exactly where the BJP needs to win; Step 5: Hide the evidence,' Gandhi said.

He further labelled rigging as 'match-fixing', saying that the side cheats might win the game but damage institutions and destroy public faith in the result.'It's not hard to see why the BJP was so desperate in Maharashtra. But rigging is like match-fixing, the side that cheats might win the game, but will damage institutions and destroy public faith in the result. All concerned Indians must see the evidence. Judge for themselves. Demand answers,' the Rae Bareli MP said.

Gandhi warned that the 'match-fixing' of Maharashtra would come to Bihar next, where the polls are due later this year, and then 'anywhere' the BJP was losing elections. 'Match-fixed elections are a poison for any democracy,' he added. (ANI)