BJP slams Karnataka govt for ballot paper move; says Congress ''self-certifies vote theft''
Bengaluru (PTI): Taking a swipe at the Congress government in Karnataka, the opposition BJP on Friday claimed the state cabinet’s decision to use ballot papers instead of EVMs in the next local body polls amounted to "self-certifying" that the ruling party came to power through "vote theft."
Urging the 136 Congress MLAs elected in the 2023 Assembly polls and the nine Congress MPs from the state to resign first, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra alleged, "Let them win the elections again using ballot paper, or accept that they came to power through vote theft."
The Congress government on Thursday decided to recommend to the State Election Commission (SEC) that all future panchayat and urban local body elections in Karnataka be held using ballot paper instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil had cited "erosion of public confidence and credibility in EVMs as the reason for the cabinet decision."
The cabinet also authorised the SEC to "prepare, revise and, if necessary, redo" the electoral rolls for local body polls, citing discrepancies and allegations of "vote theft."
Vijayendra, in a post on 'X', claimed, "The highest number of illegal voting, complaints of vote theft, incidents of election violence, and complaints about irregularities in the country have been registered in the courts during elections held on ballot papers—and that too against Congressmen."
"The people of the country have not forgotten that Indira Gandhi imposed the Emergency due to the court’s verdict in the wake of vote theft and election malpractices by her," he alleged.
Alleging that the Congress, "an expert in vote theft and election malpractices using ballot papers," was in disarray due to continuous electoral defeats, he said Rahul Gandhi was creating a "childish controversy in the name of 'vote theft', putting forward a baseless, immature and twisted argument."
"To support this, the ruling Congress government in the state has decided to conduct elections using ballot papers," he added.
"While the entire country and the world are moving rapidly based on technology, the Congress government in Karnataka is insulting technology," he claimed.
According to Vijayendra, Congress under Rahul Gandhi supports ballot-based elections only because "electoral irregularities, booth violence and fraudulent voting can be committed without hesitation" through ballot papers.
"The Congress government in Karnataka is going to take the first step to implement it. The Congress’s agenda and goal is to defy the democratic system and transparent elections," he alleged.
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West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee moves SC against SIR
New Delhi (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in the state, sources said on Sunday.
The petition names the Election Commission (EC) and the chief electoral officer of West Bengal as respondents. It was filed before the apex court on January 28, the sources said.
Banerjee arrived in Delhi on Sunday. She is scheduled to meet Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar at 4 pm on Monday to discuss the ongoing SIR exercise in West Bengal. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo would be accompanied by a delegation of party leaders.
She is also likely to meet party MPs in the Parliament House on Monday.
Talking to reporters at the Kolkata airport before leaving for the national capital, Banerjee claimed that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre is resorting to the SIR exercise because it is certain of its imminent defeat in the West Bengal Assembly polls, due in a few months, and said the saffron party should contest the election politically and democratically.
The West Bengal chief minister has written several letters to the CEC, raising concerns over the conduct of the exercise.
In her most recent letter to the CEC on January 31, she alleged that the methodology and approach of the exercise went beyond the provisions of the Representation of the People Act and the relevant rules, causing "immense inconvenience and agony" to citizens.
Earlier, TMC leaders, including Rajya Sabha MPs Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen, had moved the apex court, challenging certain aspects of how the SIR is being carried out in West Bengal.
