Govt ordered quick probe into voter data theft: CM Bommai; Congress blames BJP
Bengaluru, Nov 19: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday said the government promptly initiated a police inquiry into the alleged theft of voter data. Bommai said this after the Congress began attacking him and demanding his resignation over the case. The Chief Minister told the Karnataka High Court to take up the case on its own. The BJP government said the probe should be initiated by a sitting judge.
"They (Congress) keep demanding judicial inquiry by a sitting judge. When they were in power, they had once ordered a judicial inquiry by a sitting judge into the Bangalore Development Authority case which helped them come clean, so they keep demanding," Bommai said.
"We quickly booked a criminal case and ordered a police inquiry into the case. Yesterday (Friday), a search was made and today the person was arrested. Further steps will be promptly taken," he told reporters in Mangaluru, over 370 km from here.
Meanwhile, Congress's Karnataka unit lodged a fresh complaint with the chief electoral officer Manoj Kumar Meena alleging that electoral fraud, malpractice, and manipulation of voters' list was done by the Chief Minister, State Higher Education Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan, the district election officer and chief commissioner of the Bengaluru Bruhat Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Tushar Girinath and the directors of Chilume Trust.
Later, the State Congress president D K Shivakumar alleged that the Chilume Trust, which is in the middle of the controversy, has the password of the electoral roll software, which should remain only with the BBMP officials.
He charged the BJP government with involvement in the scam. "I appeal to the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court with folded hands on behalf of the voters of Karnataka to take up on the own, just as you intervened during the deaths due to oxygen shortage," Shivakumar told reporters after submitting a complaint to the chief electoral officer of Karnataka Manoj Kumar Meena.
The Congress's State chief alleged that a note-counting machine and a letterhead of a BJP leader were found at Chilume's office, which police raided after getting the complaint.
"When it was a not-for-profit organisation, how come there was a note-counting machine? Is black money being converted into white?" he sought to know.
At a press conference, the Congress national general secretary and Karnataka in- charge Randeep Singh Surjewala alleged Chief Minister was the kingpin of the scam.
"The VoterGate or voter data theft scam has exposed Basavaraj Bommai as the real kingpin," he said.
He said he sought to know why no FIR has been lodged against the Chief Minister who is in- charge of the Bengaluru city and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Chief Commissioner Tushargiri Nath.
The Congress general secretary wondered why a booth-level officer, appointed by Chilume Trust, was booked when he was a whistle-blower.
He aid Bommai termed the charges against him as baseless, but then a case was registered in this connection.
"Tell me which police officer has the power, audacity or authority to investigate into an FIR allegations of which were rejected by his own Chief Minister? Can the officer go against the Chief Minister. And what is the use of a farcical probe that Bommai says he is conducting," Surjewala said.
The Congress leader sought to know also as to who funded Chilume Trust to hire so many people to collect voter data across the city.
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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.
