Cong chief Mallikarjun Kharge alleges electoral fraud led to his 2019 LS poll defeat
Bengaluru, Aug 8 (PTI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday claimed that his 2019 Lok Sabha election defeat from Gulbarga constituency was the result of "electoral fraud".
The veteran leader said he has never faced defeat in his long political career, except in 2019.
He was addressing people during the ‘Vote Adhikar Rally’ here, where Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his deputy D K Shivakumar and several others were present.
Kharge also claimed that he was a victim of election rigging.
“I have won over 12 elections in my life except the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, which I lost for the first time in my life due to the election fraud,” the Congress chief said.
He alleged that the BJP engaged in "bogus voting", securing up to 20,000 votes in each of the five assembly segments under the Gulbarga Lok Sabha seats in 2019 Parliamentary election.
Kharge accused the BJP of using the Enforcement Directorate, Central Bureau of Investigation and the Income Tax department to "intimidate" opponents and gain power.
Citing the example of Karnataka, he claimed that the BJP toppled the then ruling coalition government by inducing defection of many MLAs, despite not having a clear majority.
“The same thing happened in Goa, Maharashtra and also in Manipur. They (BJP) never won any election, but they paid people and purchased the government,” the Congress leader said.
According to Kharge, "Modi and company" did not have a legitimate victory in the 2024 LS poll. Their win was achieved by "stealth".
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41 lakh illicit liquor seized, 1.84 lakh arrested in major drive: K'taka Minister tells Assembly
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): The Karnataka Excise Department has conducted a statewide crackdown on illegal liquor trade over the last two years, resulting in arrests and seizures of alcohol, Karnataka Excise Minister R B Timmapur said on Tuesday.
As many as 1,09,017 people were arrested, and seizures included 13.66 lakh litres of liquor and 27.19 lakh litres of beer, he said in a written reply to a starred question by Harihar BJP MLA B P Harish in the Karnataka Assembly.
The Minister said the enforcement drive covered the financial year 2023–24, 2024–25 up to June, and 2025–26 from July to October, targeting unauthorised liquor manufacture, storage, sale and transportation across the State.
"During this period, statewide enforcement drives resulted in a total of 1,84,570 raids against illegal liquor sales,” Timmapur said.
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He noted that 9,179 non-bailable cases and 91,968 bailable and compoundable cases under Section 15(A) of the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, were registered during the same period.
According to him, there have been no reports indicating that students have become addicted to alcohol due to illegal liquor sales.
The sale of alcohol to minors is strictly prohibited under the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, and the department has issued periodic instructions to initiate legal action against violators, with strict enforcement and investigation measures in place, the Minister said.
Excise officials are carrying out regular road and night patrols, collecting intelligence, monitoring habitual offenders and conducting raids to identify illicit distillation units, unauthorised liquor outlets and spurious liquor manufacturing centres, he said, adding the department is also enforcing the law to prevent the production, storage, sale and transport of spurious, non-duty-paid and unauthorised liquor.
Regular patrols are being conducted on national and state highways, with suspicious vehicles being subjected to checks.
At the district level, standing committee meetings are held under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioners, and joint operations are carried out with the police and forest departments to curb excise-related offences.
The department is also conducting awareness programmes through Gram Sabhas and in schools and colleges to educate the public and students about the physical, mental and social health hazards associated with alcohol addiction and substance abuse, Timmapur added.
