Bangalore: BJP Petitions EC against Sriramulu, Cong for Poll Malpractices

From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore

Bangalore, Nov 19: With electoral fever shooting up in the Bellary rural by-election, the ruling BJP has targeted its former minister and independent candidate B Sriramulu and Congress candidate Ramaprasad by filing complaints with the Election Commission authorities for electoral malpractices and violation of the model code of conduct.

BJP MLAs B N Vijaya Kumar and Dr C N Ashwathanarayana as well as Bangalore city unit president Subbanarasimha lodged complaints with in-charge Chief Electoral Officer R Manoj that independent candidate Sriramulu and Congress candidate Ramaprasad regarding violation of the model code of conduct.

The BJP leaders in the petitions said the Congress candidate had deployed vehicles painted with Congress symbols and colour violating the Karnataka Motor Vehicles Act and urged that they should be ordered to be withdrawn while Sriramulu had issued a statement claiming that it was difficult to limit the election expenses to Rs 16 lakh as per the election rules and made it clear that he was going to use more money.

They also charged that Sriramulu had distributed banians printed with his photograph and the complaints in that regard had been totally ignored by the returning officer. They also said that both the candidates had made amply clear that they were going to vitiate the election atmosphere, which may lead to law and order situation.

The BJP leaders demanded suitable measures to ensure free and fair elections in Bellary Rural constituency.

KPCC pays tributes to Indira Gandhi

Meanwhile, at a separate function organized by the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee to celebrate the 94th birth anniversary of former prime minister Indira Gandhi, KPCC President Dr G Parameshwara and Congress opposition leaders in the Assembly and Council Siddaramaiah and Motamma respectively exhorted the partymen to work unitedly to overthrow the ``corrupt and insensitive” BJP government in the State.

The Congress leaders conferred the Indira Gandhi Special Service Award to Gita Navin Kulkarni, police inspector, Gayathri Nivas, journalist, Dr M Bhagyalakshmi, Ruksana Hasan and K Lokambi for the services they rendered in their respective fields of activity.

Jnanapith Award winner and former Congress MLC Chandrasekhar Kambar was also felicitated by the leaders by presenting a Mysore peta, shawl and a sandalwood garland.

Dr Parameshwara asked all Congressmen to pledge themselves to work for installing a clean government, whose leaders should not loot the wealth of Karnataka, as had happened in the last few years.

Karnataka became backward during the three year BJP rule in the State as not a single unit of power was generated and no power project took off. How could industries and farmers flourish without power and water supply leading to food shortage, Siddaramaiah asked and pointed out that people were suffering due to shortage of drinking water.

Most ministers in the BJP were facing criminal charges and the inquiry against the national general secretary Ananth Kumar in the HUDCO scam was not yet over. But, the senior BJP leader L K Advani had the temerity to take out anti-corruption yatra in the state also, he said and called upon party workers to remove the BJP government and thus pay tributes to Indira Gandhi.

The Congress leader said that three top party leaders Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi had sacrificed their lives protecting unity and integrity of the country. Indira Gandhi fought for social justice also through various measures. What is the use of achieving 8.5 per cent GDP when it did not benefit the poorest of the poor, he asked.