Correspondence from govt to Guv only after Cabinet consent, govt tells CS, Secretaries
Bengaluru, Sep 26: Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday directed the Chief Secretary and the Secretaries that any correspondence from the government to the Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot as sought by the latter, should be sent only after its consent.
"The Governor is repeatedly writing letters (to govt), in what seems to be a behaviour of impatience, seeking information with an instruction that they be sent immediately. After verifying all the rules the Cabinet has directed the Chief Secretary and Secretaries to place it before the Cabinet and to proceed further as per the decision of the cabinet, while sending any information to the Governor," Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting of the Cabinet, chaired by the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, he said it used to be routinely sent by the Chief Secretary earlier, but here on any correspondence between the government and the Governor on any of his queries, will be sent only after the Cabinet takes decision on it.
Citing the Governor's recent letter to the government, wanting to know how certain "confidential material" between Raj Bhavan and Lokayukta was leaked, the Minister said, "where were those papers and how they were leaked, it is for the Governor now to give permission for probe and pinpoint who are the people concerned in the Raj Bhavan itself."
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Alleging that the concerned documents were at the Raj Bhavan for months in violation of law, but the blame was put on the government, he said, "Day in and day out it is being told that the government is leaking the information, is the government responsible for the leakage of the information, for which the Governor is attacking the government (that it) has irresponsibly done it...?"
The Governor had written to the Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh August 28, expressing "perplexity", as to how the government came to know about the "confidential material" relating to Lokayukta's request to him seeking prosecution or investigation sanction against some opposition leaders.
In the letter to the Chief Secretary, the Governor had sought a prompt and early reply along with Cabinet note/supporting documents and the source of documents/ information in this regard.
An inquiry was conducted following the Governor's letter, Patil said, adding, on September six, the Director General of Police wrote a letter to the Raj Bhavan enclosing the report received from the in-charge Inspector General of Police, Special Investigation Team, Karnataka Lokayukta, for further necessary action and appropriate decision.
As per the report by the IG, SIT Lokayukta, he said, "the proposal and related documents (seeking sanction for prosecution against a few opposition leaders) were in Raj Bhavan secretariat from November 24, 2023 to August 8, 2024, for about ten months, which is in violation of Section 19 of Prevention of Corruption Act, which mandates that the decision regarding prosecution must be taken within a period of four months by the competent authority."
The documents were in possession of the Raj Bhavan Secretariat when reports regarding it appeared in the media, Patil, reading from the IG's letter, said: "....in order to unearth the point of leakage, it is necessary to probe the custody of documents in Raj Bhavan Secretariat in eight months...."
The letter by the IG then notes that the letter of the Special Secretary to the Governor (seeking certain clarification from Lokayukta) written on July 29, 2024 along with documents was received in SIT office on August 8 and it took ten days to reach SIT office in Bengaluru from Raj Bhavan Secretariat.
The possession and the custody of the documents during this period needs to be clarified, the IG in his letter has further said, adding, "the events from the creation of the letter on July 29 by the Special Secretary to the receipt of documents in the SIT office on August 8 needs to be probed into, to identify the point of leakage."
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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.
