Bengaluru: The Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has issued a proper discover to Congress chief and Lok Sabha chief of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, asking him to furnish documentary proof for his allegations of voter fraud within the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The August 10 discover immediately addresses Gandhi’s declare {that a} 70-year-old voter, Shakun Rani, had voted twice within the polls primarily based on Election Fee of India (ECI) knowledge.
A preliminary inquiry by the CEO’s workplace discovered that Rani had forged her vote solely as soon as, stated the discover which added: “You might be kindly requested to offer the related paperwork on the idea of which you’ve concluded that Shakun Rani or anybody else has voted twice, so {that a} detailed inquiry could be undertaken by this workplace.”
Issued by V Anbukumar, the CEO of Karnataka, it stated the “preliminary enquiry carried out by this workplace additionally reveals that the tick marked doc proven by you within the presentation will not be a doc issued by the polling officer.”
This newest growth follows an earlier discover on August 7 during which the CEO requested Gandhi to signal an affidavit detailing his allegations of large-scale additions and deletions within the voter record in Karnataka. Gandhi had made these claims throughout a press convention in New Delhi the identical day, accusing the ECI of “choreographing” the elections to profit the BJP.
At that briefing, Gandhi alleged that in Mahadevapura constituency alone, 100,250 votes had been “stolen” by duplicate entries, pretend addresses and bulk registrations at single areas. “That is Election Fee knowledge. Apparently, they haven’t denied the knowledge. They haven’t instructed the voter record that Rahul Gandhi is speaking about is fallacious. Why don’t you say it’s fallacious? As a result of you understand the reality. that we all know that you’ve achieved this throughout the nation,” he stated.
On Sunday, Gandhi has additionally taken his marketing campaign to the general public, launching the web site votechori.in and asking residents to affix the demand for transparency. “Vote Chori is an assault on the foundational thought of ‘one man, one vote’. A clear voter roll is crucial at no cost and truthful elections. Our demand from the EC is evident, be clear and launch digital voter rolls so that folks and events can audit them,” he wrote on X.
Karnataka deputy chief minister and state Congress president DK Shivakumar, who joined Gandhi on the ‘Vote Adhikar Rally’ in Bengaluru on August 8, has additionally filed a criticism with the CEO alleging voter fraud in Mahadevapura and Gandhinagar. “Vote theft not solely occurred in Mahadevapura, however throughout Karnataka,” he stated. “We have now requested the Election Fee to analyze the fraud and punish officers involved, be it a block stage officer or returning officer.” The CEO has requested Shivakumar to submit documentary proof underneath the Registration of Electors Guidelines, 1960.
Including to the political stress, chief minister Siddaramaiah introduced on Saturday that the state’s legislation division will look at the allegations and suggest authorized motion. “The advocate common will likely be instructed to conduct the investigation shortly and submit a report. However the Election Fee has full authority concerning the voter record,” he instructed journalists in Mysuru. Concentrating on the BJP, he added: “The BJP is making a mistake and mendacity. Our inner survey stated we might win sixteen seats within the final Lok Sabha elections, however we gained solely 9. Rahul Gandhi has instructed the whole lot together with witnesses. Is it attainable for 80 folks to dwell in a single small room?”
On Gandhi’s allegations on the EC, BJP MP and former Karnataka CM Basavraj Bommai stated: “His allegations have develop into a humid squib. Rahul Gandhi ought to apologise to the folks of Mahadevapura and the nation for misguiding the folks of Karnataka and bringing discredit to the constitutional our bodies just like the Election Fee”
