BENGALURU: Union Minister and JDS leader H D Kumaraswamy on Saturday urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to place before the public the facts behind the reported differences among the chief election commissioner and the two election commissioners, while criticising the Congress for staging protests against the poll panel.
Speaking to reporters ahead the NDA-BJP-JDS coordination meeting in the wake of October 23 polls to four council seats, Kumaraswamy said the ECI was a responsible constitutional institution and that its functioning should not be questioned merely on the basis of media reports about differences among its members.
“The commission itself should tell the people what the truth is and why the differences have arisen and protect the dignity of the institution,” he said.
He accused the Congress of repeatedly attacking constitutional institutions and attempting to blame them for its own failures. He also criticised Chief Minister D K Shivakumar for asking Congress workers to protest against the ECI while maintaining silence on irregularities in the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC).
Kumaraswamy questioned the Congress and the Cockroach Janata Party and Gen Z activists over their silence on alleged KPSC recruitment irregularities, including those involving assistant executive engineers and veterinary doctors.
He alleged that jobs were being “sold for money” and demanded to know why such alleged corruption was not being questioned.
On the government’s drought relief of Rs 2,500 to farmers, Kumaraswamy asked whether farmers were “beggars” and criticised the amount as inadequate. He also condemned Shivakumar’s reported remarks on some legislators having two marriages and warned that incidents such as the disappearance of a KRIDL assistant executive engineer could increase if the government failed to address the situation.
