In next six months, half the BJP leaders in K'taka will be in jail or run for bail: Priyank Kharge
Bengaluru: Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Sunday said half of the BJP leaders in the state will either be in jail or running for bail in the next six months as the Congress government will get to the bottom of the corruption cases of the previous BJP government.
Reacting to Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot granting permission to prosecute Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the site allotment scam in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), he said the Congress did not go for a witch-hunt because its first priority was good governance.
"As a government our first priority is to deliver an efficient governance, not witch-hunt. But yes, having said that, there are a lot of discrepancies in the previous government," Kharge told reporters here.
There are more than 35 cases against BJP leaders and in three to four cases, an interim report has been submitted, the Minister said, adding that the state government has constituted a Special Investigation Team of the Criminal Investigation Department.
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"We are looking at these cases closely. We will get to the bottom of those cases. It takes time. There was extreme corruption in the previous government. We are working on it. And let me assure you again that in the next six months half of the BJP leaders will be running for bail or will be in jail," he added.
The Minister said there are umpteen cases where the role of the Governor has been debated, which has been set in stone and will be put forth before the court.
To a question, Kharge said there is no way BJP leaders can take the case against Siddaramaiah to the logical end because they do not have any evidence.
"The only thing they can do is they can keep the case alive by using the Central Bureau of Investigation, Income Tax, Enforcement Directorate, and the Governor himself," he added.
Blaming Gehlot for the political turmoil in the state, Kharge alleged that the Governor was a puppet and not a constitutional head of Karnataka.
"Unfortunately the position (of Governor) has been compromised and he is behaving like a BJP Karyakarta," Kharge alleged.
Replying to a question, he charged that the BJP never came to power through people's mandate but stole it. That was the only way BJP could come to power in Karnataka or elsewhere.
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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.
