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NDTV
21 minutes ago
- NDTV
"No Record": Poll Body Denies Congress Leader's Claim Of Forged Voter List
Bengaluru: In a development that adds fresh fuel to the ongoing controversy around alleged voter roll manipulation, the Karnataka State Election Commission has officially responded to a letter from H Nagesh -- the Congress candidate from Mahadevapura, who lost in the assembly elections from the same constituency in 2023. In response to his letter, the Commission has said it has no record of any submission made by him in April 2023 regarding forged entries in the constituency's voter list. In his letter dated July 31, Mr Nagesh had requested a copy of a document he claims to have submitted last year, listing alleged bogus voters in the 174-Mahadevapura Assembly Constituency. He said his team had misplaced the original documents listing forged entries in the voters list. The Election Commission, however has responded saying it has no such document on record and noted that Mr Nagesh had also not filed any petition or appeal challenging the 2023 voter list under relevant provisions of the Representation of the People Acts of 1950 and 1951. "This office does not have records of any such letter received from you during April 2023 on the issue of electoral rolls," read the letter from the Election Commission. The reply, issued by Joint Chief Electoral Officer Yogeshwar S, also emphasized that statutory electoral rolls are publicly available online and are also handed to all contesting candidates, including Mr Nagesh, at the time. Interestingly Rahul Gandhi has been raising the same issue and has been accusing the Election Commission of failing to act on credible evidence of electoral fraud. Rahul Gandhi will be in Bengaluru on August 5, where he will lead a major protest at Freedom Park against the Election Commission and the BJP.
Hindustan Times
21 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
When politics reeks of bitterness, misconduct
Eleven days from now, India will be celebrating its 78th Independence Day. Eight decades is a long enough time to take stock of our democracy and polity. Are we moving in the right direction? Are today's politicians working towards strengthening our democracy as envisioned by the founding fathers of the Republic? What better way to celebrate the approaching Independence Day than to seek answers to these probing queries? We, as citizens, have some basic expectations from our Parliament. It should not be reduced to an arena of vote politics. (Hindustan Times) Let's address the first question. Have a look at the debate over Operation Sindoor. Indians were hoping for the ruling party to put all the facts in the public domain while the Opposition would articulate its criticism and chip in with constructive suggestions. However, what unfolded was completely different. The Opposition got a fair chance to put their views forward in both houses. The ruling dispensation showcased all their facts, but the entire exercise fell far short of clearing the doubts assailing the minds of the citizens. We, as citizens, have some basic expectations from our Parliament. It should not be reduced to an arena of vote politics. Unfortunately, that's become the norm now. I have been a student of parliamentary debates. Our politics has been steadily degenerating. Bitterness has seeped into it, and politicians speak irresponsibly. Political parties of every hue are equally responsible for it. Even before the debate started, the first week of the monsoon session was a wash-out due to vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar's surprise resignation. The media corridors were rattled by Dhankhar's resignation bomb at the end of the first day of the monsoon session. Political developments that day unfolded like a suspense thriller. No one could figure out the climax till the very end. In the morning, he came as usual to the Rajya Sabha, conducted its proceedings, and met leaders from the treasury benches and the Opposition. In the afternoon, he met BJP president JP Nadda and parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju. It seems the talks couldn't be concluded, so another meeting was convened in the evening. Nadda and Rijiju didn't attend, but the minister of State for parliamentary affairs, L Murugan, was present. What transpired in the afternoon meeting? Why didn't the senior ministers attend the evening meeting? Was there any difference of opinion between them and Dhankhar? Did the vice-president resign on his own? Or was he forced to quit? What will Dhankhar's next move be? Will he follow in the footsteps of former Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik? Or will he quietly bow out? Queries, conjectures, and concerns remain. It seems we are turning into a democracy that's bogged down in a maze of uncertain, dubious, and unnecessary debates. Dhankhar came into the limelight when he was made the governor of West Bengal. From the moment he entered the Raj Bhawan, he trained his guns on the chief minister, Mamata Banerjee. His words and deeds didn't go down well with those who preferred political propriety. This was the reason when he was made the vice-president, his detractors thought he had been rewarded for what he did in West Bengal, as Banerjee is considered the BJP's prime foe. As vice-president, it was his responsibility to conduct Rajya Sabha proceedings fairly and impartially. The way he conducted the proceedings in his early days raised many eyebrows. Accusations were levelled against him, but he was unfazed. Those opposed to the BJP said he was doing all this as he had an eye on the President's post. Initially, people were surprised by his sudden exit, but there's very little sympathy for him now. Unfortunately, such unpleasant incidents are growing. Look at the recently concluded session of the Bihar Assembly. It was the last session of the current term, a time to say polite goodbyes and warm wishes for the journey ahead. But it too degenerated into a mudslinging fest peppered with debased language, creating situations where it felt as if the leaders would come to blows. Bihar will go to the polls later this year, and the elections may turn into an ugly battle of bitterness and allegations. The Election Commission of India (ECI) undertook a special intensive revision of the electoral roll. The Opposition alleges it's a conspiracy to delete their voters from the list. The ECI didn't budge. Chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar curtly retorted: Should the ECI list the dead and foreigners in the roll? The Supreme Court also questioned the timing of the revision. The Opposition had alleged something completely different during the Maharashtra assembly elections. It's not clear who's right or wrong, but it's clear that those gracing constitutional posts are more interested in confrontation than building consensus. Let's address the second question. Are we heading in the right direction? At a time of ever-expanding hate and the normalisation of debased language and political misconduct, it would be tough to suggest that our journey ahead will be smooth. Political parties have devoted decades to creating linguistic, regional and social divides instead of bridging them. They have conveniently forgotten that the growing divides can drown them as well. Dhankhar is only its latest victim. Let's address the third question. The future is shaped by the present; the actions of today build the foundations of a new order. That's the law of nature. If so, can anyone bet confidently on the future when the present is roiled by discontent, inconsistency, incongruity and apprehension? Shashi Shekhar is the editor-in-chief, Hindustan. The views expressed are personal.
Indian Express
21 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Ahead of Cong protest, ex-minister seeks copy of ‘2023 letter'; no record, says Karnataka CEO
Ahead of Congress's protest scheduled on August 5 in Bengaluru over alleged voter fraud during 2024 Lok Sabha elections, former minister H Nagesh had written to the Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka, seeking a copy of a complaint he claimed he had submitted in April 2023 alleging forged entries in voters' list. The CEO's office, however, denied receiving any such complaint. Nagesh contested the 2023 polls from Mahadevapura constituency in Bengaluru and lost by a margin of 44,000 votes to BJP's S Manjula. On July 31 this year, in a letter to the state election commission, he said, 'I, H Nagesh, wish to bring to your kind attention that we had earlier during April 2023, submitted a list containing details of alleged forged entries in the voters list pertaining to our constituency 174 Mahadevapura. This issue is of grave concern as it affects the transparency and fairness of the electoral process. However, we have misplaced the list of documents — we do not have a copy of the submitted documents for our records. We kindly request you to share a copy of the document which we had submitted.' The letter was shared on the official X handle of the Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka, and the reply attached. Yogeshwar S, Joint Chief Electoral Officer, in a letter dated August 2, said that 'this office does not have records of any such letter received from you during April 2023 on the issue of electoral rolls with a list containing details of alleged forged entries in the voter list pertaining to 174-Mahadevapura Assembly constituency, which you have suddenly raised now.' 'This office has a statutory copy of the electoral roll which is also available online and is always handed over to the candidates during the elections, including you while you were a contesting candidate,' the letter said. 'Since then, you have not filed any petition with respect to 174-Mahadevapura Assembly Constituency as per Section 80 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 nor any appeal to either the first appellate authority or second appellate authority against entries in the electoral rolls published in 2023 as per Section 24 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950,' it said.
