CM Siddaramaiah accuses BJP of vote theft, says PM Modi destroyed independent agencies
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday alleged that after Narendra Modi became Prime Minister, he "destroyed all constitutional and independent institutions in the country" and made them, including the Election Commission, subordinate to the central government.
Claiming that the BJP has proved itself to be "experts in vote theft", the Chief Minister accused the saffron party of coming to power at the Centre and in several states through such means.
He was speaking after announcing that the Congress party has gathered more than 1.12 crore signatures against "vote theft" in the state as part of its signature campaign.
"We call BJP experts in lying; they are not just experts in lying, lies are their home deity. They are not just limited to it. They have proved that they are experts in vote theft. Vote theft has become their profession," Siddaramaiah said.
"BJP in recent years, through vote theft, have won Lok Sabha and Assembly polls and has come to power at the Centre and in several states," he added.
Speaking to reporters here, he said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has exposed them with evidence in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Haryana.
"During the recent Bihar polls, people who had earlier voted in Delhi polls have voted in Bihar too. According to our Constitution, a person can cast only one vote. Voting twice at multiple places is unconstitutional. Gaining power using unconstitutional means is against the basic principles of democracy and the Constitution," he added.
Hitting out at the Election Commission for failing to investigate the vote theft allegations made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the Chief Minister said the Commission was responding "irresponsibly" and not acting in accordance with the Constitution in a democratic system.
"It is clear from this that the Election Commission is functioning under the influence of the central government. Not only now, after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, he has destroyed all the independent agencies or bodies like CBI, ED, IT and now the Election Commission by making them function under their (ruling BJP) influence," Siddaramaiah said.
All these independent bodies are functioning as subordinates of the central government, he added, calling it "detrimental to democracy."
To get the attention of the people and to protect the Constitution and democracy, and also independent agencies or bodies, a signature campaign was launched by Congress against vote theft, Siddaramaiah said. So far, more than 1.12 crore signatures have been gathered in Karnataka, and it will continue.
"Probably by November 10, the first set of signatures that have been gathered will be sent to the AICC, which will send it to the President of India (Droupadi Murmu) and the Chief Election Commissioner (Gyanesh Kumar)," he said.
"This is being done to get the attention of the people and to create awareness among them, and thereby protect the constitutional bodies," he said, adding that the signature campaign was held in all 40 political districts of the party, and that the campaign has to be intensified in the next few days wherever it has been slow.
State Congress President and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said a total of 1,12,40,000 signatures have been gathered from Karnataka for the signature campaign organised by AICC leaders against vote theft.
"Signatures have been collected from all the Assembly constituencies of the state and the 40 organisational districts of the party. Our workers have worked very honestly in this campaign," he told reporters.
"Except for 8-10 places, signatures have been gathered well in all the remaining places. Booth-wise signatures have been gathered, and we are working to create awareness among the people about vote theft," he added.
It has been decided to send the signatures gathered to Delhi on November 10, Shivakumar said, adding that they will be delivered to the AICC in Delhi by district presidents who have worked with great responsibility for this campaign.
A massive rally is planned by the party at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan in the third week of November (November 25), he said, adding, "This campaign will not stop here. In those areas where the campaign has not been done properly, it will be continued for another three to four days."
In September, Rahul Gandhi had accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of protecting those who "destroyed democracy" and cited data from the Aland assembly constituency in Karnataka to claim that the votes of Congress supporters were being "systematically deleted ahead of elections".
In August, Rahul, citing data from the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, had claimed that over one lakh votes were "stolen" through manipulation in the Mahadevapura assembly segment in Karnataka.
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Goa nightclub fire: Owners Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra fled to Phuket after tragedy, say police
Panaji (PTI): Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, the main accused and owners of the Goa nightclub where a massive blaze claimed 25 lives, fled to Phuket hours after the tragedy, Goa Police said on Monday.
"Goa Police have taken further steps to coordinate with the Interpol Division of the CBI to apprehend both Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra at the earliest," a senior police officer said.
A massive fire at the nightclub, some 25 kilometres away from Panaji, on late Saturday night killed 25 persons. The deceased comprised 20 employees of the nightclub and five tourists, including four from Delhi. Five injured people were undergoing treatment at the government-run Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH).
After registering an FIR against them, a Look Out Circular was issued against them by December 7 by the Bureau of Immigration (BOI) at the request of the Goa Police.
The Bureau of Immigration at Mumbai was contacted, and it was found that both the accused had taken the 6E 1073 flight to Phuket at 5.30 am on December 7, immediately after the fire incident, which occurred around midnight, the officer said.
READ ALSO: Goa nightclub fire: Owner Saurabh Luthra expresses grief, assures management support
He said the Goa Police had immediately dispatched a team to Delhi to conduct raids on the addresses of the accused Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra.
"Since they were not available, a notice under the appropriate sections of law was pasted on the gate of their house. This shows their intent to avoid the police investigation", he said.
Goa Police have obtained transit remand of Bharat Kohli, an employee of the club, and are bringing him to Goa.
He also said that the postmortem on all 25 deceased has been completed and bodies handed over to their families.
