Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 5 (ANI): Maharashtra Minister and BJP leader Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Wednesday slammed Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, alleging that he 'incited' the youth against the Election Commission during his 'H-Files' press conference.

Addressing a press conference earlier today, Gandhi alleged voter fraud in the Haryana Assembly elections and highlighted that the youth have the power to restore democracy through truth and non-violence.

Responding to a Congress leader's allegation, while speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Bawankule said that Rahul Gandhi works to tarnish the country's image.

'Rahul Gandhi always does the work of lowering the image of the country. When he travels abroad, he talks about our country's shortcomings. Now, he is inciting the country's youth against a constitutional body. Doing such things is not good for the country. It feels like he is 'nasamajh' (mindless),' he said.

Bawankule's remarks come in response to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi urging India's Gen Z and youth to safeguard the country's democratic process, while addressing allegations of large-scale voter fraud in Haryana.

Rahul Gandhi claimed a plan was set in motion to turn a predicted Congress victory into a loss.

While addressing a press conference, 'H files', Rahul Gandhi said, 'I want the young people of India, Gen Z, to understand this clearly. Because this is about your future. Your future is being destroyed. So it's important that you listen and you watch. I'm questioning the Election Commission and the democratic process in India. So I'm doing it with 100 per cent proof. We are pretty sure that a plan was put in motion to convert Congress' landslide victory (in Haryana) into a loss.'

Just a day before the polling for the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections, he said his team has clear proof that around 25 lakh voters in the state are either duplicate, nonexistent, or manipulated.

He said, 'We have crystal clear proof that 25 lakh voters (in Haryana) are fake, that they either don't exist or they are duplicate or are designed in a way for anybody to vote...1 in 8 voters in Haryana are fake, that's 12.5 per cent.'

Gandhi claimed that a woman appeared to have voted 22 times across different booths using multiple names.

He said the image linked to her was a stock photograph of a Brazilian model and that similar cases could involve up to 25 lakh records in the state.

'Congress lost the election by 22,000 votes...Who is this lady?... She votes 22 times in Haryana, in 10 different booths in Haryana. She has multiple names...That means this is a centralised operation...The lady is a Brazilian model. That's a stock photograph, and she is one of 25 lakh such records in Haryana,' he said.

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju also criticised Rahul Gandhi's claims, alleging that the Haryana issue is being fabricated to divert attention from the Bihar elections.

Rijiju emphasised that one has to accept both victory and defeat in a democracy. (ANI)