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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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
