K'taka HM Parameshwara takes dig at Centre over plea to cancel Prajwal Revanna's passport
Bengaluru, May 25: Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Saturday took a dig at the Centre, a day after the Ministry of External Affairs said the state government's request to impound the diplomatic passport of absconding Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna was received only on May 21.
He sought to know what happened to the letter sent by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April, seeking revocation of the passport of the suspended JDS leader.
Reacting to a reported interview of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar that his ministry got the request for cancelling the passport only on May 21, Parameshwara told reporters: "I too saw the media report. If he (S Jaishankar) said so, then it means that the PMO did not inform the Ministry of External Affairs."
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"The Chief Minister wrote the letter in April itself and the EAM says he received it on May 21. What happened to the letter in the Prime Minister's Office? Didn't it get the value it deserved or did the PMO not inform the External Affairs Ministry?" Parameshwara asked.
Taking a swipe at the union government, he said, "We can see how the Centre is functioning."
The Home Minister noted that once the diplomatic passport is cancelled, Prajwal has to return to India as he will lose the immunity to stay abroad.
Prajwal, who is the grandson of JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda and the NDA candidate from Hassan Lok Sabha segment, is facing charges of sexually abusing women.
Prajwal reportedly left for Germany on April 27, a day after Hassan went to polls, and is still at large. A 'Blue Corner Notice' seeking information on his whereabouts has already been issued by Interpol, following a request by the SIT via the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
A Special Court for Elected Representatives issued an arrest warrant against Prajwal, following an application moved by the SIT.
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Fascism will not be allowed to enter through the back door of vote rigging: CM Siddaramaiah
New Delhi: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday asserted that fascism would not be allowed to enter India “through the back door of vote rigging” and called upon citizens to collectively defend the country’s democratic foundations.
Speaking after participating in an anti–vote rigging protest organised in New Delhi, Siddaramaiah said the gathering was not merely a political demonstration but a stand to protect Indian democracy. “We have come to the heart of our republic not as Congress workers or voters, but as protectors of Indian democracy,” he said.
Emphasising the importance of the right to vote, Siddaramaiah said it was the most sacred right guaranteed by the Constitution and the very foundation of democracy.
“Through voting, a farmer shapes the future of his children, a worker safeguards his dignity, a youth realises dreams, and a nation expresses its collective will,” he said.
He accused the BJP-led Union government of attempting to undermine this right through what he termed systematic vote rigging, including the alleged misuse of the special revision of electoral rolls. “This power is being stolen repeatedly,” he alleged.
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Warning against authoritarian tendencies, Siddaramaiah said history had shown that dictatorship does not begin with violence but with the misuse of institutions and manipulation of democratic systems.
“Across the world, authoritarian regimes pretend to protect democracy while quietly subverting it. This is what the BJP is doing today,” he charged.
He alleged that the ruling party was controlling institutions, intimidating electoral machinery, distorting voter lists, suppressing voter turnout in opposition strongholds, and misusing money and power. “This is not mere maladministration. Vote rigging is an attack on the very idea of India,” he said.
Siddaramaiah further claimed that governments formed through “stolen votes” could not be considered democratic.
“Such regimes survive through fear, fraud and distortion of the people’s mandate,” he said, adding that vote rigging posed the biggest threat to the republic since Independence.
Praising Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah said he had shown exceptional courage in exposing alleged irregularities in voter lists, booth-level manipulation and “systematic, organised vote rigging” across several states, including Karnataka, Haryana and Bihar.
Referring to Karnataka, Siddaramaiah cited Mahadevpura and Aland constituencies as examples highlighted by Gandhi. In Mahadevpura, he said, thousands of allegedly fake and fraudulent voter entries and discrepancies in electoral rolls pointed to a narrow BJP victory. In Aland, he said, attempts were made to remove the names of legitimate voters ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections.
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He noted that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) had recently filed a chargesheet accusing seven persons, including a former BJP MLA and his son, of attempting to delete the names of around 6,000 voters in Aland.
“This is a significant legal step in the fight against vote rigging,” he said.
Siddaramaiah concluded by stating that the fight against vote rigging was rooted in constitutional morality, Ambedkarite thought and the core principle of democracy. “Sovereignty belongs to the people, not to any party, regime or those who seek to steal elections,” he said.
