BJP Tamil Nadu chief Annamalai, party leaders detained
Chennai (PTI): BJP Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai and many functionaries were detained here on Monday by the police ahead of the party's protest against the alleged irregularities in state-run liquor retailer TASMAC.
The saffron party had announced a picketing protest of the TASMAC headquarters in the city over the alleged Rs 1,000 crore irregularities, as claimed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) recently.
Annamalai, clad in a black shirt, was detained near his house along with his supporters by the police.
In a social media post, the BJP state chief alleged senior party leaders including Tamilisai Soundararajan have been placed "under house arrest" by the police.
Mahila Morcha chief and Coimbatore South MLA Vanathi Srinivasan, Vinoj P Selvam and Amar Prasad Reddy were among the senior functionaries detained.
Annamalai said there have been "irregularities of Rs 1000 crore," in the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) and asserted the party will continue to protest on the matter.
The ED had earlier said it has found "multiple irregularities" in the operations of TASMAC, including "manipulation" in the tender processes and "unaccounted" cash transactions worth Rs 1,000 crore through distillery companies.
The federal agency had claimed it got 'evidence' suggesting these corrupt practices after it raided the employees, corporate offices of distilleries and plants of TASMAC on March 6.
There were ‘kickbacks’ involved, it had claimed.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
