Congress demands impartial investigation into escape of 23 fugitives, holds PM accountable
New Delhi, Sep 15 : Congress on Saturday sought to fix accountability of Prime Minister Modi and Finance Minister Jaitley in the Rs 90,000 crore "loot of public money" and the escape of 23 fugitives, including Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. It also demanded an "impartial investigation" into it.
"BJP is more loyal to ‘con-man' than to a common man. PM Modi only promoted 'ease of looting and fleeing India" rather than promoting ease of doing business in India," said Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill.
The party also released a list of 23 fugitives who fled under this government and are settled abroad.
"The law-breaking and government organised escape episodes of Mallya, Nirav Modi and Chowksi prove beyond doubt that Modi Sarkar is not a guardian or protector of public money but a travel agency facilitating fraud and happy safe flying of willful bank loan defaulters," said Shergill.
"BJP provides the "chor darwaza" (escape door) to all wilful defaulters looking to run away with public money," he added.
The party stated total banking fraud cases from year 2014-2018 are 23,000. "Total amount involved in banking scams: Rs. 90,000 crore. In 2014-15 (Rs. 19,455 crore), 2015-16 (Rs. 18,698 crore), 2016-17 (Rs. 23,933 crore), 2017-18 (Rs. 25,459 crore)," the party stated.
The leader said: "It is high time political and legal accountability is fixed on the Modi government as to how and under whose instructions the law enforcement agencies decided to conveniently look away while the 23 fugitives left India," he added.
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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.
