BJP demands CBI or NIA probe into fake Aadhaar card, voter ID creation case in Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): The BJP on Wednesday demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation or the National Investigation Agency probe the fake voter ID and Aadhaar card case since it pertains to national security.
Referring to the recent arrest of three persons -- MSL Techno Solution owner Mounesh Kumar, his accomplices Bhagath and Raghavendra by the Central Crime Branch of Bengaluru in connection with the creation of fake identity cards -- BJP MLA and former minister S Suresh Kumar said the crime mentioned in the FIR against the three pertained to national security.
"The crime mentioned in the FIR is against national security. Preparing a duplicate Aadhaar card is a great crime from the national security point of view. All these accused are Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh's (Suresha B S) close associates," Kumar alleged.
"Since it is a serious crime, the BJP demands that the CCB cannot investigate this case. It should be investigated by the CBI or the NIA," he added.
Along with that, an order must be issued to cancel the Aadhaar cards created by MSL Techno Solutions because it is difficult to comprehend where these can be used in future, Kumar said.
He demanded that all the accused, howsoever powerful they may be, should not be allowed to escape because this is not a political matter but one which is related to the security of society.
The BJP MLA noted that one should have a birth certificate to create an Aadhaar card.
"If these documents are created by bypassing the birth certificate, then one can understand the clout the accused enjoy, " he said.
Kumar claimed that these documents were created with a sole objective of winning the 2023 assembly election.
"We are lodging a complaint with the Election Commission of India to expose the whole network to find out where all this has spread, to whom all these people give these identity cards, (and) the complications created by this. We will demand the ECI to get this case investigated by the NIA or CBI as these two probe agencies are competent enough to probe it properly," he said.
Stating that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah should also show seriousness since it involves the security of society, Kumar appealed to him to get Suresh investigated to find out how he had benefited by it.
He also claimed that the BJP's defeated candidate from Hebbal, Jagadeesha Katta K S, who lost to minister Suresh, had been saying from the beginning that fake and forged identity cards were prepared and fake voters were created to win the elections.
He dismissed the minister's claim that he did not know Mounesh, and showed a photograph of Mounesh Kumar riding a scooter and Byrathi Suresh sitting on it as a pillion rider.
"No MLA will ever sit on anyone's scooter. There should be some trust in the person with whom the MLA is riding a pillion.
He must be known to him and also knows the route. It is well known that the three are close friends of the minister," the BJP MLA claimed.
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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.
