BJP wants voting put off in Bengaluru's RR Nagar constituency
Bengaluru, May 9: A day after 9,746 voter ID cards were seized from a flat in Rajarajeshwari Nagar Assembly constituency in Karnataka, the BJP on Wednesday accused the Congress of hatching a conspiracy to "derail" free and fare polls and demanded that voting be postponed in the assembly segment in Bengaluru Urban district.
"Five laptops, scanners and lamination machines and many voter ID cards were burnt before police reached the spot. Still they recovered around 1 lakh counterfoils of Form-6. This shows a deep conspiracy to derail free and fair election," Union HRD Minister and party’s in-charge for Karnataka polls Prakash Javadekar told the media.
Raising a pointing finger at the Congress, he said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) never indulges in such activities, while the former has been doing such activities.
"This is biggest threat to democracy. This is subversion of election. This is what Congress does. If it's not getting real votes, it creates fake voters... It's the philosophy of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Rahul Gandhi. Voting must be immediately countermanded," he said.
The BJP leader claimed that the flat in Jalahalli area in the Rajarajeshwari constituency, where fake voter IDs were allegedly found, was "never rented" and belongs to Manjula Nanjundmuri, who has been associated with Congress's local MLA N. Munirathna.
"This flat was never let out. So, she (Manjula) should also be arrested. All the proofs of call records and others must be forensically examined by the police and cyber crime department," Javadekar said.
Calling Congress MLA Munirathna "the kingpin", Union Minister Sadananda Gowda also demanded postponement of voting in the constituency.
"After investigations, the truth will be out. This election should be postponed and only then democracy will survive," he said.
State's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sanjiv Kumar on late Tuesday night said 9,746 voter cards have been seized from a flat in the constituency.
"In a surprise visit to a flat in Jalahalli locality, nearly 9,746 voter ID cards were found. Five laptops and one printer was also found in the flat," Kumar said.
Over a lakh slips resembling acknowledgement slips used for adding names into the electoral rolls were also found.
The voting in 223 assembly constituencies of the state will be held on May 12 and votes counted on May 15.
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Centre spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print media ads for RSS centenary, reveals RTI
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allegedly spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print advertisements marking the 100-year celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.
The information was sought by RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose, who filed an application seeking details on expenditure incurred by the ministry for advertisements commemorating the RSS centenary.
Bose shared a picture of the reply from the ministry on his official ‘X’ handle.
“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the government’s reply stated.
RTI reply shows Min of Culture Govt of India spent a Whopping Rs 76L,13K,129 on Advertisement in Print Media on occasion of 100 yrs of #RSS
— AJAY Basudev Bose (@AjayBos93388306) April 16, 2026
When Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??@RSSorg… pic.twitter.com/dW4IUtdNCg
Bose questioned the expenditure in the post X, “when Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??”
Reacting to the development, Karnataka’s IT-BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge also criticised the spending.
In a post on X, he asked why public money was being used for what he described as a “private ideological project.”
"Modi Sarkar spent Rs 76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to celebrate their centenary?," he added.
Why is public money being used to serve a private ideological project?
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) April 16, 2026
Modi Sarkar spent ₹76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS.
Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to… pic.twitter.com/EoZ6Pim3IM
According to reports, the RSS describes itself as a volunteer-based organisation and has stated that it functions as a body of individuals rather than a registered entity.
Founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the organisation is marking its centenary year beginning from Vijaydashami in 2025, with the milestone observed on October 2.
