Congress will rectify mistakes of Lok Sabha elections: Deputy CM DK Shivakumar
Bengaluru, Jul 11: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday said the Congress party would evaluate and rectify the mistakes it committed in the Lok Sabha elections in the state.
He said the exercise is aimed at taking on the BJP-JDS combine.
Speaking to reporters at the KPCC office, Shivakumar, who is also the Congress state president, said the party increased its tally from one seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to nine in 2024, but that fell short of the expectation of at least 14 to 15 seats.
“The performance will be evaluated by the party in the presence of the AICC fact-finding committee. This process is taking place across the country. We are sharing our reports for the four geographical regions of the state. We will discuss and find out the shortcomings,” Shivakumar said.
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The deputy chief minister said though the party fielded good candidates in the recent Lok Sabha elections, it did not translate into favourable results.
“We need to understand the subtle factors which have influenced the results. We knew BJP-JDS combine had an advantage. We will prepare ourselves to fight with them in the future elections,” he added.
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Right to vote under threat, must be made fundamental right: Cong's Jairam Ramesh
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged on Thursday that the right to vote is under threat and the time has come when it should be made a fundamental right for citizens.
Speaking with reporters, Ramesh lashed out at Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, saying the Election Commission (EC) has never been as compromised as it has been under him.
"The rot started under his predecessor. This man is a player and not a neutral observer," the Congress leader said, slamming Kumar.
Kumar is completely compromised and has become a player in elections, he alleged.
"Home Minister Amit Shah had talked about three Ds -- detect, delete and deport. So we want to know how many non-Indian citizens have been detected, how many have been deleted and how many have been deported," Ramesh said, adding that the right to vote is now under threat.
On opposition parties submitting a fresh notice in the Rajya Sabha, seeking to move a motion for the CEC's removal, the Congress leader said they will continue to make efforts for Kumar's removal as he is "compromised".
Ramesh also batted for the right to vote to be recognised as a fundamental right.
"I believe that the time has come that the right to vote should be made a fundamental right. It is a statutory right, it is not a fundamental right. Fundamental rights are justiciable," he said.
The former Union minister said this was discussed in the Constituent Assembly, but it was eventually decided that it should be made part of the Constitution.
B R Ambedkar and Jagjivan Ram had warned that in the future, governments might try to disenfranchise voters, he added.
"Once and for all, include the right to vote as a fundamental right for Indian citizens," Ramesh asserted.
