CM Bommai orders probe into voter data theft scam since 2013
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday said he has directed officials to probe into the alleged voter data theft scandal since 2013, when the Congress party was in power in the state.
Addressing reporters here, he said, "I have directed the officials concerned to probe the case from 2013. They will ascertain when for the first time the contract to conduct such door-to-door survey was assigned to the Chilume Educational Cultural and Rural Development Institute ( Chilume Trust') and what was the content of the order. Our objective is to bring out all the facts."
This comes a day after the Congress had lodged a complaint with Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Meena alleging that electoral fraud, malpractice, and manipulation of voters' list was done by the CM, Higher Education Minister C N Ashwath Narayan, the District election officer and chief commissioner of the BBMP, Tushar Girinath and the Directors of Chilume Trust.
According to Bommai, the Congress had roped in the same non-government organisation when it was in power from 2013 to 2018.
He also charged that the Congress' contract was rife with violations and illegalities compared to the one entered into by the BJP government.
The Congress in Karnataka has alleged that the Chilume Educational Cultural and Rural Development Institute ( Chilume Trust') hired many private people who were given fake identity cards impersonating Booth Level Officers (BLOs) of BBMP.
The opposition party further alleged that the private trust, which was assigned by the Bengaluru civic body to spread awareness among voters, collected details of the voters such as name, mother tongue, gender, religion, caste, voter ID number and the Aadhaar number.
"In our order we had granted permission to create awareness (among voters). We had included the clause that the NGO should not be associated with any political party, whereas in their order (during the Congress tenure) they had given permission to conduct survey of voters only.
However, the order given by the Congress asked the NGO for revision of electoral roll, which is done by the ECI, the CM claimed.
"This is an unpardonable crime of assigning the duty of the Election Commission (to a private entity). During the Congress regime, the Tehsildar himself told the NGO to appoint the Booth Level Officers (BLOs), which is a misuse beyond limits," Bommai said.
On the Congress' charge that over 27 lakh voters were deleted from the electoral roll, Bommai said the addition and deletion in the voters' list is the job of the ECI and not the government.
He termed the Congress party's allegations as 'politically motivated.'
Responding to a query, Bommai said the Congress MLAs too had hired agencies for carrying out survey.
"Political parties too hired such agencies and conducted surveys.. See the difference between the order issued by us and them (Congress). They had done the job of the election commission, which is an offence," he underlined.
The BJP leader claimed that the ECI for the first time used artificial intelligence to erase double entries.
Bommai welcomed the complaint lodged by the Congress with the ECI, saying the truth will come out after the investigation and justice will prevail.
Meanwhile, the police probing the case arrested two people belonging to the Chilume Trust. The police had also raided their offices and seized some electronic gadgets and documents.
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Air India resorts to cost-cutting ways amid 'tough times'; layoffs not anticipated
New Delhi/Mumbai (PTI): Hit hard by Pakistan airspace closure and Iran war, Air India has resorted to cost-cutting measures, including holding back annual increments for staff and asking them to cut discretionary spending as well as non-critical expenditures, warning of "tough times".
On Friday, Air India Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director (CEO & MD) Campbell Wilson told the staff it is going to be a "very, very difficult year" if things don't improve on the Middle East front.
A day after the loss-making airline's board discussed various cost-saving steps, Wilson, along with Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Sanjay Sharma and Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) Ravindra Kumar GP, addressed the employees during a townhall on Friday where the emphasis on the need to keep a close watch on costs.
With higher jet fuel prices due to the West Asia conflict and airspace curbs, the loss-making airline's expenses have spiralled in recent times and against this backdrop, Sharma also told staffers that FY26 has seen a softening in revenue amid heightened external uncertainties.
Calling for a relentless focus on costs in these tough times, Wilson urged employees to suspend discretionary spending, renegotiate rates where feasible, and defer non-critical expenditures.
"There must be a laser-sharp focus on eliminating wastage and leakages," he said.
Stressing the need to tighten the belt for a while, Wilson sounded optimistic that travel demand would rebound and the industry would continue on its upward path.
CHRO Ravindra Kumar told staff that the airline will proceed with variable pay for the last financial year and continue with planned promotions while noting that annual increments will be deferred by at least one quarter.
"We don't anticipate layoffs," he said.
At the airline's board meeting on Thursday, various cost-saving steps, including likely furloughs, were discussed. The Tata Group-owned airline has around 24,000 employees.
Generally, furlough refers to sending staff on unpaid leaves by companies during a tough financial situation.
During the townhall, CFO Sanjay Sharma said while strong revenue growth and fleet expansion drove financial momentum through FY25, FY26 has seen a softening in revenue amid heightened external uncertainties.
Air India has seen around 40 per cent CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) in revenue between 2022 and 2025, he added.
The airline was acquired by the Tata Group from the government in January 2022.
The Air India CEO mentioned the external challenges being facing the aviation industry as a whole, including the continued closure of Pakistan airspace that is expected to persist for the foreseeable future and geopolitical conflicts leading to disruptions and airspace closures across West Asia.
Wilson, who is set to step down later this year, also flagged a sharp depreciation of the rupee and a 2.5-3 times increase in jet fuel prices, and added that these factors have adversely affected travel sentiment and consumer confidence, as per the sources.
If the Strait of Hormuz opens, oil prices fall and consumer as well as business confidence come back, there is a decent chance of a solid recovery, Wilson said, adding that unless those circumstances happen, it was going to be "a very, very difficult year".
"I feel somewhat responsible that we ended up with probably the biggest surprise of the year in the external environment which was a full-scale war in our neighbouring region in the Gulf. That has had a huge impact on airspace," he said.
For Air India, Wilson said the situation is compounded by the fact that the airline cannot fly over the neighbouring country and has to take a much longer routing for any west-bound destination.
"Every airline is reporting that they are under some sort of financial pressure as a result of higher fuel prices and economic uncertainty. So, it is unfortunately not a great environment to be running an airline," the Air India CEO said.
The Air India Group -- Air India and Air India Express -- is projected to have incurred more than Rs 22,000 crore loss in the financial year ended March 2026.
At the townhall, Wilson also highlighted various initiatives, including completion of the retrofit of its legacy narrow-body aircraft and rapid network optimisation to redeploy capacity more efficiently.
