Natak over I-cards in Karnataka
The 10,000 voter I-cards recovered from a flat in a constituency in Karnataka are not fake, said Election Commission sources. However,
The more incriminating find was the discovery of detailed survey formats with family names, electricity meter numbers, mobile details, caste, voter ID, Aadhar ID, Widow ID, Old age ID, BPL card details, etc.
The name of the surveyors, phone numbers and the date of survey is also there on the format, the EC said in a brief note. This has turned the spotlight on an orchestrated political exercise to zero in on vulnerable voters and target them through inducements and middlemen.
Nonetheless, the I-card find set off a war of words between the Congress and the BJP, with the latter demanding countermanding of the poll, claiming the former was behind the racket, a charge that the Congress dismissed as a "lie".
The row has erupted three days before the election with the two parties claiming the flat where the I cards were found belonged to a woman associated with the rival party.
PM Narendra Modi immediately latched onto the controversy and attacked the Congress for adopting such tactics.
"Thousands of voter ID cards were seized, one lakh voter slips were seized, in just one place. They must have planned such tactics in 40-50 constituencies. You (voters) be alert. Such irregularities cannot be allowed during the celebration of democracy (polls)," he told elections rallies.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Union minister Prakash Javadekar claimed Congress candidate and the sitting MLA was behind the alleged racket, which was exposed by a BJP worker Rakesh.
Congress spokesman Rajdeep Singh Surjawala hit right back, alleging that the flat owner and Rakesh, who was dubbed by Javadekar as the "whistleblower," had BJP connections and both had contested the Bengaluru Municipal Corporation elections on saffron party tickets.
The Congress also launched a counteroffensive, claiming BJP was making such allegations because it was aware of its imminent defeat.