Yogesh K Porwar
BJP has committed electoral fraud.
Treatment of young men and women during the Delhi protest is shameful.
The fight against the SIR process will continue.
“Our government will start a police investigation against those who helped electoral fraud and misused Form 7,” said Chief Minister D.K.Shivakumar.
He was speaking at the “Stop Electoral Fraud, Save the Nation” protest organised by the INDIA alliance at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on Thursday. He later spoke to the media.
“We are not just fighting the Election Commission. We are fighting the BJP’s schemes that work behind the Election Commission,” he said.
“We are committed to protecting the voting rights of ordinary citizens. I want to tell all Booth Level Officers (BLOs) appointed by the Election Commission that CCTV footage shows who helped with electoral fraud and who brought in the applications. We will register a case and ensure justice is served,” he declared.
BJP has committed “vote theft” :
“The BJP has committed ‘vote theft’, and those responsible must face legal action. In our democracy, the right to vote is a basic right. It is our lifeline. We have gathered here today to fight to protect this right,” he said.
“Freedom Park has witnessed many political changes and historic struggles in the country.
Earlier, at this very venue, along with Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Siddaramaiah, we launched a campaign against violations of voters’ rights reported in various parts of the State, including Mahadevapura and Gandhinagar. That struggle sent a strong message across the country,” he recalled.
“In Bengaluru, the BJP government, through an organisation called ‘Chilume’, gave its own party workers the job of Booth Level Officers (BLOs).
A plan was made to delete lakhs of votes and enrol new voters through irregular means. Congress leaders went to Delhi, met the Election Commission and fought to protect the voting rights of people in Karnataka.
Despite all these challenges, the people of the State gave Congress 136 seats, which allowed us to form the government,”he said.
Saying the BJP had misused the Election Commission to undermine voters’ rights not only in Karnataka but also in Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Haryana and Tamil Nadu, he criticised the Commission.
He said that instead of upholding the spirit of the Constitution, it was working like a cadre of a particular political party.
Treatment of young men and women during the Delhi protest is shameful :
“The way young men and women were treated during the protest in Delhi is shameful. The youth of this country have the strength and determination to fight electoral fraud.
The history of the Congress party is closely linked with the history of the nation, and the party is committed to building a system that gives equal opportunities and justice to all sections of society,” he said.
“The fact that opposition leaders were denied a chance to meet the Election Commission shows the state of our democracy.
Leaders of the INDIA alliance, including Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, are raising their voices to protect citizens’ voting rights. The Election Commission is, in effect, paving the way for electoral fraud,” he alleged.
“A report submitted by a team led by Prakash Raj and Noor Sridhar, which surveyed various constituencies in the State on electoral fraud, has revealed several irregularities.
The team visited hundreds of constituencies and recorded cases of injustice at individual polling stations. After taking note of this report, the government started corrective measures,” he said.
“Form 7 applications were printed directly at the BJP office and sent to local leaders in various constituencies, along with voters’ names, Voter ID numbers and phone numbers.
The forms were already filled in, leaving only the applicant’s name to be entered.
This was a deliberate plan to delete the votes of 10,000 to 20,000 people in each constituency, especially targeting members of Scheduled Tribes, Backward Classes and minority communities,” he said.
“Attempts were made to delete thousands of votes in several constituencies, including Kalaburagi, Vijayapura and the constituency represented by Sowmya Reddy in Bengaluru.
A major setback was avoided because our party workers alerted us to this malpractice and submitted a report,” he added.
“I, along with my Cabinet colleagues, visited the Election Commission office to protest the misuse of Form 7 and demand protection of voters’ rights. I made it clear that I would not leave the premises and was even ready to sleep there until action was taken.
The Election Commission then instructed officials to ignore all applications submitted through Form 7. It also directed that new voters be enrolled and that legal action be taken over the misuse of these applications,” he said.
“Now that a case has been registered over the misuse of these applications, BJP leaders are approaching the Election Commission and police officials to protect their party workers.”
“An attempt to take away citizens’ voting rights is an attack on democracy,” he said.
“Taking away people’s right to vote is the murder of democracy. Electoral fraud is no less serious than grave crimes such as attempted murder.
In Bihar, 65 lakh votes have been deleted; in Karnataka, the figure is around one crore; and in Haryana, 25 lakh votes have been deleted.
Yet the Central Government refuses to acknowledge this failure. Even through the SIR process, justice is not being delivered,” he criticised.
Media Statement :
The struggle against the SIR process will continue.
“Our position on how the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is being carried out is clear. We do not accept the way this process is being implemented.
Our main demand is that the names of eligible voters who have been removed from the electoral rolls must be restored, except those who have died,” he said.
“Everyone whose name has been wrongly deleted from the electoral rolls must get justice. Our leaders have already taken a firm stand on this issue. We insist that every eligible voter receives justice,” he added.
The struggle will continue until justice is served
“Our struggle will continue until justice is delivered to voters who have been wronged in the SIR process. There is no question of backing down from this fight until our demands are met,” he asserted.
