Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Sunday said that he will not stoop lows that PM Modi has in making false allegations without any proof and documents.

He was speaking to reporters at Vidhan Soudha on the occasion of 128th birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna and Constitutionalist Dr. B R Ambedkar.

I have not stooped as low as Narendra Modi. And that is why I am not afraid of Income Tax raids or any other raids. PM Modi has the history of taking commission and percentage and hence he speaks of commission and percentage everywhere.

“When we protested against IT raids, Modi mocked and ridiculed us. He must’ve seen if the IT is working diligently or not. If JD(S) supremo HD Devegowda goes into a village and have lunch at a poor man’s house, IT will raid that particular house very next day. And then they say this government has humanity” he said lashing out at Modi.

“Modi says ours is a remote control government, everybody knows who is remote controlling the Modi government. We are not remote controlled we are having absolute free administration here. We are not bothered about losing government” he said.

Stamping the attack on Modi, Kumaraswamy said “In Modi’s governance as the CM of Gujarat, Godhra tragedy happened where hundreds of innocent were killed. He faced police probe for it. I haven’t done anything like that and I don’t have to learn governance and ethics by a man who has taken innocent lives as the CM of a state”.

Deputy Chief Minister Dr G Parameshwar and Social Welfare Minister Priyank Kharge were also present at this occasion.

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Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.

Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.

After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.

A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.

Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.

Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.

“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).

He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.

“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.

When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”

Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.

“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.

He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.

“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.

The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.

“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.

Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”

Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.

Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.

“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.

Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.