K'taka HC orders stay on case against Eshwarappa for his alleged ‘we don't want Muslim votes’ remark
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Saturday issued an interim stay to the case filed against BJP Leader K.S. Eshwarappa for his alleged, ‘We don’t want Muslim votes,’ remark.
A single-judge bench of the High Court heard the petition filed by KS Eshwarappa seeking quashing of the case against him.
After listening to the arguments of the petitioner's counsel for some time, the bench granted an interim stay to the case and adjourned the hearing to December 15. Advocate M. Vinod Kumar argued for KS Eshwarappa.
Eshwarappa is said to have made the controversial statement during a meeting of the Veerashaiva Lingayat community on April 25, 2023, at the residence of former Karnataka Chief Minister Yeddyurappa in Shivamogga, held during the assembly elections. As reported by a private news agency on its social media account, Eshwarappa was quoted saying, “There are 50 to 55 thousand Muslim voters in Shivamogga. We don't want a single Muslim vote.”
Based on the news reported on social media, H. Mahesh, the flying squad team officer of Shivamogga Assembly Constituency, lodged a complaint with the Vinoba Nagar police station on May 6. The Shivamogga JMFC judge granted permission to the Vinoba Nagar police to investigate the case, simultaneously an FIR was registered on May 8. The hearing of the case was initially scheduled for December 2, but the Hight court stayed it.
The petitioner requesting for the quashing of the case, argued that the complaint was filed based on information obtained from an ‘X’ account of a private news agency, since there is no compelling evidence in the case, and investigating it would be a misuse of the law.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
