MCC violation: Karnataka HC grants interim relief to DK Shivakumar
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has granted interim relief to Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, facing charges of model code violation during the campaign for the Lok Sabha elections.
Justice Krishna S Dixit directed the authorities concerned to refrain from taking further action against him until the next hearing, on his petition challenging the FIR registered against him.
The case was registered on April 19 following a complaint by the BJP to the Election Commission of India alleging that Shivakumar, who is also Congress state president, attempted to blackmail voters. The BJP claimed that during an election speech at Rajarajeshwari Nagar, while campaigning for his brother and LS candidate D K Suresh, Shivakumar promised voters Cauvery water supply and occupancy certificates in exchange for votes for the Congress.
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Expressing reservations, the Court questioned whether the remarks attributed to Shivakumar would constitute offences under Sections 171B (bribery) and 171C (undue influence at elections) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The judge emphasised the need for deeper consideration of the matter and sought to know whether Shivakumar's statements strictly meet the parameters of the charged sections.
However, the Court asked Shivakumar's counsel to advise his client to be more cautious in his speeches. Additionally, it raised concerns regarding the time given to Shivakumar by the EC to respond to a notice served on him. Granting interim relief to Shivakumar, the Court expressed dismay over the declining standards of election speeches and noted that the quality, content, and presentation have fallen "abysmally low."
Justice Dixit remarked that it was uncertain if such standards could deteriorate further. The Court recorded an assurance from Shivakumar's counsel that the Congress leader had been advised to exercise caution over his remarks.
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Attempt to shield 'infiltrators': BJP ahead of Cong's rally against 'vote theft'
New Delhi (PTI): Ahead of the Congress' rally over the "vote theft" issue, the BJP on Sunday alleged that the main opposition party was holding the event in its bid to "protect infiltrators" from being removed from the electoral rolls.
The ruling BJP asserted that the Congress will not succeed in its design of misleading people as well as "insulting and defaming" constitutional institutions, because the entire world knows that India's democracy is "very robust".
Stepping up its campaign against the alleged "vote theft" by the BJP in elections, the Congress has organised a rally at the Ramlila Maidan here on Sunday that will be attended by the party's top leaders, including general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, K C Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, and Sachin Pilot.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi are expected to address the gathering. Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi is also likely to be present at the event.
Ahead of the event, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said the Congress was holding the rally even as Union Home Minister Amit Shah "exposed" the opposition through his point-by-point rebuttal to their "fabricated" allegations during a debate on electoral reforms during the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament.
"This shows that you do not have truth in your hand, yet you are trying to create an atmosphere of confusion. The Congress' rally is an exercise to protect 'ghuspaithiyas (infiltrators)'. This is what the Congress is doing," the BJP MP told reporters here.
"The Congress party may try all it wants to mislead the people as well as insult and defame our constitutional institutions. But, the entire world knows that India's democracy is very robust and it cannot be shaken," he added.
The BJP leader accused the Congress of holding the rally to pursue its "appeasement politics" and dared Rahul Gandhi to challenge the Bihar assembly polls if he felt that there was any irregularity.
"Rahul ji, you still have perhaps 10 days left in your hands. You can still file a complaint if you feel that there was any irregularity (in the poll process) in any of the seats in the Bihar assembly polls," Patra said.
