‘Fake’ voter ID-card row hits Karnataka days ahead of poll
RIVAL PARTIES DENY BEING IN CONTROL OF APARTMENT FROM WHICH CARDS WERE SEIZED
Amassive controversy has rocked the southern Indian state of Karnataka after nearly 10,000 “fake” voter ID cards were seized from a flat in Rajrajeshwari Assembly seat, prompting the BJP to demand cancellation of the election, claiming Congress was behind the racket, a charge dismissed by the latter as a “lie”.
With just three days left before Karnataka goes to poll, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress, the two main contenders for power, went after each other’s jugular, with each claiming the flat belonged to a woman associated with the rival party.
Probe
Union minister Prakash Javadekar claimed Congress candidate and sitting MLA Munirathna Naidu was behind the alleged racket.
Congress spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala hit right back, alleging that the flat owner Manjula Nanjamari and Rakesh had BJP connections and both contested Bengaluru Municipal Corporation elections on the tickets of the saffron party.
Karnataka’s Chief Electoral Officer Sanjiv Kumar said a Deputy Election Commissioner rank official was being rushed from the national capital to Bengaluru for a probe.
Maintaining that prima facie the I-cards looked genuine, he said only a thorough inquiry will bring out the truth.
Replying to a question, he said the visiting cards with photos of a candidate were also found strewn around the flat but “no conclusion can be drawn that the candidate had visited the place”.
“It was earlier suggested that somebody was trying to break into our [computer] system to prepare fake ID cards — that is not so,” he said.