Siddaramaiah demands HC Chief Justice monitored probe into 'voter data theft'
Bengaluru, Nov 18: The Congress on Friday demanded that the BJP government in Karnataka order a High Court Chief Justice monitored judicial probe to expose what it called 'Operation Voter' scam.
The opposition party on Thursday alleged "theft" of voter data in Bengaluru and breach of privacy.
An FIR has been registered against NGO 'Chilume Trust' and one of its employees.
The Congress alleged that the private agency was granted permission for house-to-house survey to create awareness among voters on filing online applications and charged it with collecting their personal data presenting themselves as booth-level officers (BLOs).
Siddaramaiah, leader of Opposition in the Assembly and former Chief Minister, sought to know "whether the BJP government is trying to save its corrupt ministers by framing an agent".
In a series of tweets, he charged the government with betraying people by allegedly "stealing the voter information and illegally collecting their personal data".
"Bengaluru police have registered a case against an agent named Lokesh, who just works with Chilume for a salary of Rs 20,000, in the #OperationVoter scam. Is this 40% @BSBommai Sarkara trying to save their corrupt ministers by making ordinary employee a scape goat?," Siddaramaiah asked.
He said, "We demand High Court Chief Justice monitored Judicial probe to expose the real culprits behind #OperationVoter scam. Why is the govt afraid of initiating a judicial probe? Why is @BSBommai in a hurry to brush the case off?"
"It is a blot on the democracy as BJP infringes upon the privacy of innocent people. @BSBommai & his cabinet should resign for cheating people," the Congress stalwart said.
The Congress has accused the government of being responsible for the "corrupt electoral practice" by assigning a private entity Chilume Trust to collect door-to-door voter information.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has dismissed the charges saying that the "Congress is bankrupt with ideas due to which it is making baseless charges without any proof".
We demand High Court Chief Justice monitored Judicial probe to expose the real culprits behind #OperationVoter scam.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) November 18, 2022
Why is the govt afraid of initiating a judicial probe?
Why is @BSBommai in a hurry to brush the case off?
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20,000 more vacancies in Karnataka Government Jobs; Services affected
Bengaluru: Karnataka has recorded an increase of 20,466 vacancies in government jobs this year, with data revealing that one-third of sanctioned posts in the administration remain unfilled. This shortage has led to significant delays in public service delivery.
Of the 7.72 lakh sanctioned government posts in the state, 2.76 lakh remain vacant, compared to 2.55 lakh last year. The Congress party had pledged in its 2023 election manifesto to fill all vacancies within a year, but 19 months later, this promise remains unfulfilled.
The finance department clarified that hiring is being approved on a "case-to-case" basis. However, mounting fiscal constraints, particularly due to over Rs 63,000 crore expenditure on 'guarantee' schemes, have slowed recruitment under the Siddaramaiah-led government.
Criticising the situation, Karkala BJP MLA V Sunil Kumar highlighted the impact on essential services, citing an example from Udupi district. “With just two employees handling land conversion applications, a service costing Rs 2,000 is being completed at Rs 25,000 due to delays,” he said.
The agriculture department is among the hardest hit, with a 65% staff shortage. Darshan Puttannaiah, Sarvodaya Karnataka MLA from Melkote, expressed concern over the situation, stating, “Government employees are overworked, often putting in 12-15 hours daily. Vacancies are pushing citizens to seek services through outsourcing or corruption.”
Currently, over 96,000 Group ‘C’ and ‘D’ jobs, including stenographers, typists, and drivers, are being outsourced.
R V Deshpande, chairperson of the Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission, remarked that the government should not be viewed as an employment agency. “While some departments need recruitment, others lack sufficient workloads,” he said, emphasising rising administrative costs.
The Congress government isn’t the first to face criticism over recruitment promises. In November 2022, then BJP Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had announced plans to fill one lakh vacancies within a year, a promise that also went unfulfilled.
