Siddaramaiah slams EC for colluding with Centre to 'strangle' democratic system
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday accused the Election Commission of colluding with the BJP-led union government to "strangle" the very democratic system it is meant to safeguard, citing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's allegations about 25 lakh fake entries in the Haryana poll list.
The CM also called on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to refrain from attempting to protect his "masters" and admit the truth.
The Haryana assembly polls last year were "stolen", Gandhi alleged on Wednesday, citing electoral list data to claim that 25 lakh entries were fake and the Election Commission colluded with the BJP to make the party win.
"Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has once again exposed the dark face of systematic electoral malpractice in India's election system," Siddaramaiah said in a post on 'X'.
Having earlier revealed large-scale voter fraud in Mahadevapura and Aland Assembly constituencies of Karnataka, Gandhi has now presented documented evidence showing how the entire election result in Haryana was manipulated, he said.
"These records demonstrate how the Election Commission, which is supposed to protect democracy through transparent and impartial elections, has instead colluded with the Union Government to strangle the very democratic system it is meant to safeguard," he added.
Earlier in the day, Gandhi addressed a press conference in New Delhi, during which he put up a presentation to back his claims.
Alleging that the elaborate plan included a Brazilian model whose photograph was used 22 times in 10 booths in Haryana's Rai assembly constituency during the 2024 assembly elections, the former Congress chief said, that the poll panel launched 'Operation Sarkar Chori' to convert the landslide victory of his party into a loss in the state.
Noting that in the Maharashtra and Karnataka Assembly elections, the BJP and the Election Commission had created fake voters using Indian citizens' identities, Siddaramaiah said in Haryana, they went a step further - even using the identity of a Brazilian model for their voter fraud - a testament to their shamelessness.
"This time, India's democratic reputation is certain to suffer humiliation at the international level," he said.
Over five lakh fake voters were created, and more than one lakh votes were stolen using tampered or unidentifiable photographs. "In total, over 25 lakh fraudulent votes were cast in the Haryana Assembly elections - meaning that one out of every eight votes polled was fake," he said.
Pointing out that almost every pre-election survey had predicted a defeat for the BJP in Haryana and the people were determined to oust the BJP government, the CM said Gandhi has now provided a clear explanation of how the BJP still managed to secure a majority and form the government.
"Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar - who had been evading questions, denying allegations, and even absurdly demanding that the accusers take an oath - must, at least this time, refrain from attempting to protect his masters. He should admit the truth and atone for his misdeeds through the legal process," he added.
In September, Gandhi had accused CEC Kumar of protecting those who "destroyed democracy" and cited data from the Aland assembly constituency in Karnataka to claim that votes of Congress supporters were being systematically deleted ahead of elections.
In August, citing data from the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, he claimed that over one lakh votes were "stolen" through manipulation in Mahadevapura assembly segment in Karnataka.
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Shri @RahulGandhi, has once again exposed the dark face of systematic electoral malpractice in India’s election system.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) November 5, 2025
Having earlier revealed large-scale voter fraud in Mahadevapura and Aland Assembly constituencies of Karnataka, he… pic.twitter.com/qwKZ8jzCAY
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
