Siddaramaiah hears out people's woes; solves problems rightaway for many attending 'Janata Darshana'
Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah won the hearts of several citizens who approached him at 'Janata Darshana', the grievance redressal program held at his residential office 'Krishna' in the city on Monday, by providing 'instant solutions' to their problems.
People from various parts of Karnataka who visited the event informed the CM of their woes. In cases where senior citizens complained of government officials denying them payment of pension, the CM immediately told the head of the Directorate of Social Security and Pension to check for and solve possible technical hitches. The CM also instructed the Director to take action against staff of the Directorate who were preventing the payment of pension to senior citizens.
Vendor Ningamma complained of harassment by police and BBMP officers to the street vendors and pushcart owners in the city.
Siddaramaiah called the concerned officers of the BBMP as well as the Police Department, instructing them to ensure such harassment by officers of their respective departments to Ningamma was prevented.
Next, a senior citizen told the CM that BBMP officers had been extorting fine from her although she had paid property tax, harassing her to approach the government by retaining the receipt of tax payment. Greatly upset on hearing this, Siddaramaiah called the concerned BBMP officer, ordering that the officer look into the matter personally and ensure that the issue was resolved by Monday evening. The CM also told the BBMP officer to personally report the matter to him by evening.
A statement issued earlier by the Additional Chief Secretary to the CM had said that, 20 counters had been put up for receipt of the people's complaints, with two of the counters reserved for senior citizens and people with special needs. The complaints submitted by the people would be sorted and recorded online, department-wise. The applicants would be given acknowledgement letters before the CM heard their complaints, said the government statement had added.
The official had also sent circulars to all government officers at various levels, instructing them to attend the 'Janata Darshana'.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
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.
