MYSURU: In the wake of the suggestion given by senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to probe alleged vote theft in the Mahadevapura Assembly segment under the Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency in the 2024 Parliamentary elections, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that the legal department has been directed to probe and prove the alleged election fraud.
Speaking to the media in Mysuru on Saturday, the CM said that the issue will be addressed before the elections to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
Siddaramiah said that he has directed the Advocate General to expedite the examination of the voters list, as the Election Commission has rights and control over the electoral rolls and not the State Government.
When asked about the BJP questioning the Congress for raising the vote theft issue after one year of the elections, the CM said that the saffron party has “committed a mistake and is lying.” He claimed that the Congress’ internal survey in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections gave the party 16 of the 28 seats in Karnataka, but the party won only nine seats.
“Rahul Gandhi and the party that took up research on the electoral list have come out with facts to prove vote theft with the documents that are available with the Election Commission. How can 80 people live in a single room?” the CM asked.
On whether the courts should intervene in the alleged vote theft issue, Siddaramaiah said that the Congress suspected some manipulation in the voters list and EVMs and defended Rahul’s presentation “exposing the flaws.”
On videos going viral on social media platforms about voters, including those dead, voting for him in the Chamundeshwari bypoll, the CM said, “If the dead have voted, the EC is directly responsible.”
On BJP’s allegations that he won because IAS Officer Raymond Peter was appointed as an observer in 2006, the CM said, “Had Peter not been there, they might have defeated me.”
Refutes CM Ibrahim charges
CM Siddaramiah refuted former minister C M Ibrahim’s charges that he had “purchased” 3,000 votes in the Badami constituency that helped him win with a slender margin in 2018. “Ibrahim is not in our party. “I had visited Badami for two days, but Ibrahim was camping there,” Siddaramaiah said, adding that he won the election by a margin of 1,600 votes. “This is new to me. I don’t know anything about this,” he said.