CM Siddaramaiah vows legal action on LS poll fraud allegations
Mysuru (Karnataka), Aug 9 (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said he has directed the legal department to examine the feasibility of initiating legal action against alleged election fraud during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The CM's directive follows a suggestion from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to probe alleged fraud in the Mahadevapura assembly segment under the Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha constituency during the general elections in 2024.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "I have directed the Legal Department. It will examine what action is possible to initiate. Accordingly, we will decide. Based on the legal department's recommendation, we will initiate legal action."
Responding to the BJP's allegation that the officers deputed there were under the Congress government's control, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said, "Officers may be ours (state government), but electoral issues are managed by the Election Commission."
To a question whether the action would be taken before the Bengaluru municipal elections, Siddaramaiah said, "We will do it immediately. I have told our legal advisor and Advocate General to examine it and get it done quickly."
Dismissing BJP's accusations that the Congress was slow to act, he said, "The BJP has committed a mistake and that's the reason that they are lying. Our internal survey during the 2024 Lok Sabha election showed that we will win 16 out of 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka, but we won only nine of them."
"Rahul Gandhi has raised some issues. All those details are available with the Election Commission of India. He has only presented those documents available with the ECI. Can 80 people reside in a single room? All those 80 people voted," the CM said.
Asked why the judiciary should not intervene and take up the matter on its own, Siddaramaiah said, "We have been saying this from the beginning that manipulation is going on in the election. EVM and voters' list manipulation is happening."
Siddaramaiah affirmed that he believed Rahul Gandhi's claims of large-scale election fraud through bogus and duplicate voters.
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Jharkhand: 2 killed, 5 injured after being run over by truck
Garhwa/Hazaribag (PTI): Two persons were killed and five others injured after being allegedly run over by a truck in Jharkhand's Hazaribag district on Thursday evening, police said.
The deceased were standing near a roadside puncture repair shop in Charhi when the accident happened, they said.
The injured persons were admitted to the Sheikh Bhikhari Medical College and Hospital, they added.
"The identity of the deceased is yet to be ascertained," said a police officer.
In another accident in Garhwa, two men in their mid-20s died after being hit by a speeding tractor, police said.
The accident happened in the Mahuliya panchayat in the Garhwa police station area in the early hours, they said.
"Rahul Chaudhary (26) and Nandlal Ram (26) were standing near their motorcycle on the roadside. A speeding tractor coming from the opposite direction hit them. Rahul died on the spot, while Nandlal succumbed to the injuries while being taken to the Sadar Hospital," said a police officer.
"Immediately after the mishap, the tractor driver abandoned the vehicle and fled. The tractor has been seized, and raids are underway to apprehend the absconding driver," he said.
