"Rahul Gandhi Rallies Remind Me Of Film Ghajini": Devendra Fadnavis Taunts

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said rallies of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reminded him of Hindi film "Ghajini", in which the main character suffers from short term memory loss, as the latter has forgotten promises he made in the run up to the 2018 Chhattisgarh Assembly polls.

Addressing a press conference, the senior BJP leader took a swipe at the ruling Congress in the state and alleged tainted money from the liquor scam was being invested in the elections.

"After seeing some rallies of Rahul Gandhi and Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, I am reminded of the (2008) film Ghajini. They are suffering from memory loss. They have forgotten what they promised in the past (in the 2018 poll campaign) and have started lying afresh," Mr Fadnavis claimed.

Mr Fadnavis claimed the Baghel government helped in the making of fake holograms, that are put on liquor bottles, and earned Rs 2,000 crore, which is now being invested in the elections.

"People are asking about the Congress' promise of prohibition but they (party) don't remember it anymore. The Congress promised to start an air ambulance, but are unable to run normal ambulance services," he said.

Referring to the alleged PSC (Public Service Commission) scam, Mr Fadnvais taunted that Chhattisgarh is the first state where one needs to be the children of politicians and bureaucrats to get jobs.

"We had heard someone had consumed chara (fodder) in Bihar. But in Chhattisgarh they consumed 'gobar'," he said targeting the Baghel government over alleged corruption in the cow dung procurement scheme.

"Modi government had launched welfare schemes for the poor but the Baghel government stopped the construction of houses for them. They (Congress government) claim they will bring new schemes for the construction of houses, which is never going to happen,” he added.

On Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi's promise of giving subsidy of Rs 500 on LPG in Chhattisgarh, Mr Fadnvais said the "Modi ji is already giving subsidy of Rs 400".

They (Congress) procure paddy from farmers for which they take Rs 2200 (per quintal) from the Narendra Modi government but then take credit for the entire procurement, Mr Fadnavis alleged.

Earlier, Mr Fadnavis addressed an election rally in Dhamtari city and accused the Baghel government of indulging in scams.

Assembly polls in Chhattisgarh will be held in two phases on November 7 and 17, while results will be declared on December 3.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)