BENGALURU: The election of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah as MLA of the Varuna constituency has been challenged before the Karnataka High Court on the grounds that he indulged in corrupt practices during campaigning.
Justice S Sunil Dutt Yadav asked petitioner KM Shankara from Koodanahalli in Varuna Hobli to rectify the objections raised by the registry and adjourned the matter to July 28 for a hearing.
The petitioner, who is a former member of taluk panchayat and president of Basaveshwara Yuvaka Sangha, contended that the five guarantees announced by the Congress party during its campaign for the May 10 Assembly elections amounted to bribery and undue influence under Section 123(2) of the Representation of the People Act.
The guarantees are like offers and promises made by the candidate and the party. They are in the form of gratification to voters of Varuna and with the objective of directly inducing them to vote for the party’s candidate, the petitioner stated.
Guarantees will affect fiscal discipline of state: Petitioner
The petitioner appealed to the court to declare Siddaramaiah’s election as void and debar him from contesting elections for six years under the provisions of the Act. He contended that guarantee cards were given to voters and their consent taken to vote in favour of Siddaramaiah. But the guarantees are not being implemented as promised.
Referring to the Shakti scheme, one of the guarantees, the petitioner claimed that it had been implemented without considering its adverse impact on private bus operators and autorickshaws and private cab owners. He alleged that the five guarantees will affect the fiscal discipline of the state government which will not be able to generate adequate revenues.
The schemes providing for free bus rides and monthly allowances to women infringe Article 14 of the constitution by discriminating against men. There can’t be any gender-based discrimination. Even women government employees and wealthy landowners are allowed to travel in state-run buses without fares. In fact, lakhs of government employees are getting fuel allowances. Now, with these schemes, they are getting double benefits at the cost of taxpayers, he stated.