1.12 crore signatures collected in Karnataka against ‘vote theft’: DCM D.K. Shivakumar
“Government considering holding civic polls through ballot papers”
Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC President D.K. Shivakumar announced that 1,12,40,000 signatures have been collected across Karnataka as part of the Congress-led nationwide campaign against alleged “vote theft.”
Addressing a joint press conference at the Congress office, Bharat Jodo Bhavan, on Saturday, Shivakumar said, “Signatures have been collected from all Assembly constituencies and from our party’s 40 district divisions. Our workers have worked very sincerely. Except for a few places, the drive has been carried out effectively everywhere. Signatures have been collected booth-wise, and we are also spreading awareness among people about electoral manipulation.”
He said the collected petitions would be sent to Delhi on November 10, accompanied by district presidents who have taken major responsibility for the drive. “We plan to hold a massive rally at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi in the third week of November (Nov 25). The campaign will not stop here. In places where it has not yet been conducted, we’ll extend it for another three or four days,” he added.
Ballot paper elections for civic polls under consideration
“When we ask for supporting documents to investigate electoral fraud, the Election Commission itself demands evidence from us,” Shivakumar said. “Therefore, we are considering holding civic elections through ballot papers.”
He said Karnataka ranks first among all states that have successfully implemented the campaign. “The credit goes to our booth-level agents, block and district Congress presidents, MLAs, and even defeated candidates. I congratulate our leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, under whose leadership this campaign is being conducted,” he added.
Nationwide campaign to protect democracy and the Constitution
“Under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, a massive national movement is being carried out to safeguard democracy, the Constitution, and the right to vote,” Shivakumar said.
He referred to the study conducted in the Mahadevapura constituency, which allegedly revealed over one lakh fraudulent votes. “In one house alone, more than 80 votes were registered. Rahul Gandhi exposed cases where 70–80 voters were registered in a single bar, bringing the issue of large-scale manipulation to national attention,” he said.
He recalled that during the protest held at Bengaluru’s Freedom Park, attended by Rahul Gandhi, AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, and Chief Ministers, the leaders exposed this scam, sending a strong message across the country. “This manipulation isn’t limited to one constituency. Similar irregularities have occurred in Gandhi Nagar and several others. Votes of minorities, Scheduled Castes, and backward communities supportive of Congress were deliberately transferred to other booths as part of a conspiracy,” he alleged.
Investigation into Aland constituency irregularities
Referring to the Aland constituency, Shivakumar said Minister Priyank Kharge had already alerted the Election Commission about the fraud before the polls. “The Commission began investigating after an official complaint was filed. Fake applications were submitted at 4 a.m. to delete names from the voter list. Within just 17 minutes, 14 votes were deleted, and attempts were made to remove nearly 6,000 more,” he stated.
He said an SIT probe is underway, revealing that outsiders, through their mobile numbers, were involved in manipulating the deletions. “Out of 256 booths, 7,250 votes were deleted using Form-7 misuse. Applications were submitted using mobile numbers from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, and Jharkhand. Around 151 voters whose names were deleted filed complaints on February 23. The Commission was also notified that day, but it has not provided the required information despite 12 written requests from investigators,” he alleged.
Shivakumar added that investigators have traced nine out-of-state mobile numbers involved in the process. “It has been reported in the media that BJP candidate Subhash Guttedar destroyed key documents, including voter lists. It was also found that Rs. 80 was paid for each deleted vote. Before the Assembly elections, we had already exposed how the Chilume NGO was misused. The investigation report on this case will be out soon,” he said.
“Election Commission must provide data first”
When asked why Congress hasn’t filed an affidavit before the Election Commission or the courts, Shivakumar replied, “We are asking the Commission to provide supporting records. The Commission’s data should be public. Instead of supplying us with information, they are asking us for evidence. It’s their duty to make information available. Once they give us the necessary documents, we’ll submit the affidavit.”
Responding to the question that the Election Commission has not taken the allegations seriously, he said, “We are making continuous efforts. Around 300 MPs have already submitted a representation to the Central Election Commission, but there’s been no response yet. The Commission isn’t taking any action against the wrongdoers. They only talk about filing new FIRs. They already know whose names will come out if a proper investigation happens. We are doing our part,” he asserted.
Appointments to corporation boards within a week
When asked about the delay in appointing party workers to corporation boards, Shivakumar replied, “So far, 3,000 workers have been given responsibilities. In every Assembly constituency, 15 members have been appointed to the Guarantee Committee, and 60 people have been nominated overall. At the state level, there are 600 posts in various corporation boards, and these appointments will be announced within a week,” he said.
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Indigo flights chaos: SCR to run special trains to clear passenger rush
Hyderabad (PTI): The South Central Railway on Saturday announced that it would run four special trains to manage the surge in passengers resulting from the large-scale cancellation of IndiGo flights here.
The move comes as flyers face significant disruption and long queues at the airport due to the cancellation.
A press release from the SCR said it is running the special trains to clear the extra rush of passengers to Chennai, Mumbai and Shalimar (Kolkata) from Hyderabad today.
Meanwhile, as many as 43 outbound Indigo flights were cancelled from here on Saturday, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport sources said.
ALSO READ: IndiGo cancels over 200 flights from Delhi, Mumbai on Saturday
Similarly, 26 incoming flights are also likely to be cancelled during the day, they said.
The flight cancellations drew ire from passengers, who thronged the IndiGo counters at the airport demanding to know the exact situation.
“This is utter nonsense! Digiyatra done, message received that departure has been rescheduled ahead of the scheduled departure and now upon arriving at Hyderabad airport coming to know at the security checkpoint that Indigo flight is cancelled,” Tarun Singha, former Ministry of Defence spokesperson said in a post on X.
“But the thing is if you don’t shout they do nothing. Example at Hyderabad Airport, there was no staff no flight information for an hour. Then a fellow passenger started shouting on mic and an Indigo staff appeared finally,” a netizen said in a post.
On Friday, when IndiGo cancelled over 1,000 flights from across airports, its CEO Pieter Elbers apologised in a video message for the major inconvenience caused to passengers due to the disruptions.
In the one-way video communication, Elbers also said that the airline was expecting fewer than 1,000 flights on Saturday.
