Siddaramaiah and Yediyurappa junk H D Kumaraswamy's claims of secret meet between duo
Bengaluru, Oct 13: Former Karnataka Chief Ministers Siddaramaiah and B S Yediyurappa on Wednesday rubbished JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy's claim that both leaders have had a secret late night meeting.
Kumaraswamy had yesterday claimed that the recent Income Tax raids on a person, who is said to be close aide of Yediyurappa, was an attempt by the BJP leadership to "control" him, following his alleged meeting with Siddaramaiah.
Congress stalwart Siddaramaiah challenged Kumaraswamy and said he will retire from politics, if it was proved that such a meeting took place. On the other hand, BJP veteran Yediyurappa termed it as "far from truth and meaningless".
"I had gone to meet Yediyurappa on his birthday. I had not met him personally as Chief Minister or as the Leader of Opposition. I have not met him (personally) till today. We both were in the same hospital when we were infected by Corona, even then we had not met," Siddaramaiah said.
Speaking to reporters in Kalaburgi, he claimed it is Kumaraswamy who repeatedly met Yediyurappa, when he was the CM.
"Let him (Kumaraswamy) prove that Yediyurappa and I have met, I will retire from politics.... While in opposition I will never meet those in the ruling party, nor go to their office or house, it is the principle I follow.....it (Kumaraswamy's claims) is blatant lies," he added.
On the other hand, Yediyurappa, who took to social media to reject claims about his meeting with Siddaramaiah, without naming Kumaraswamy, said he has never compromised on the ideology he believes in and his only aim was to bring BJP back to power in Karnataka.
"Other than my birthday on February 27, 2020, I have not personally met Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah..I have no need to have such a meeting. We in the party are working to bring BJP back to power in the state," Yediyurappa tweeted.
Further stating that he will not rest until achieving the goal of bringing BJP back to power, he said, "I have never compromised on the ideology that I have believed in, and will never compromise in the future. As Siddaramaiah has clarified that no such meeting has taken place, I'm too clarifying that the reports in the media in this regard are far from truth and meaningless."
Speaking to reporters in Mysuru, Kumaraswamy on Tuesday had claimed that the recent Income Tax raids specifically on a person who is said to be Yediyurappa's Personal Assistant and Water Resources department related contractors, was an attempt by the BJP to "control" Yediyurappa, following his alleged late night meeting with Siddaramaiah.
"Anyone with the slightest understanding of politics can understand that the recent IT raids were for what reasons....IT raids were with a political motive...it is to control or checkmate Yediyurappa...as both (Siddaramaiah and Yediyurappa) had a late night meeting about political developments, and the BJP that has government both at the Centre and state got to know about it from their sources, and probably have tightened things," he said.
ಈ ಗುರಿ ತಲುಪುವ ತನಕ ನಾನು ವಿಶ್ರಮಿಸುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ನಂಬಿದ ಸಿದ್ಧಾಂತಗಳೊಂದಿಗೆ ನಾನೆಂದಿಗೂ ರಾಜಿಯಾಗಿಲ್ಲ, ಆಗುವುದೂ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಹಾಗೆಯೇ ಶ್ರೀ ಸಿದ್ದರಾಮಯ್ಯನವರು ಕೂಡ ಭೇಟಿಯಾಗಿಲ್ಲವೆಂದು ಸ್ಪಷ್ಟಪಡಿಸಿರುವುದರಿಂದ ಮಾಧ್ಯಮಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಸ್ತಾಪವಾಗಿರುವ ಸುದ್ದಿಯು ಸತ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ದೂರವಾಗಿದ್ದು, ಅರ್ಥರಹಿತವಾಗಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಸ್ಪಷ್ಟಪಡಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದೇನೆ. (2/2)
— B.S. Yediyurappa (@BSYBJP) October 13, 2021
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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.
