From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, May 9: Even as the countdown for Karnataka crucial assembly elections on May 13 has started with hardly two days left for polling, the Congress on Wednesday petitioned the Election Commission (EC), demanding action against the BJP over the recovery of thousands of voter identity cards in Raja Rajeshwari Nagar Assembly constituency in the city.
The Election Commission had said that it had recovered 9,746 Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) from an apartment in Bengaluru’s Jalahalli area of the Raja Rajeshwari Nagar constituency on Tuesday.
A Congress delegation led by senior party leader Anand Sharma met the EC officials in New Delhi and alleged that the BJP was indulging in malpractices.
On Tuesday, the Election Commission had said that it had recovered 9,746 Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) from an apartment in Bengaluru’s Jalahalli area of the Raja Rajeshwari Nagar constituency.
Addressing the media at the KPCC office in Bengaluru on Wednesday, Congress leaders Randeep Singh Surjewala and Priyanka Chaturvedi alleged that the BJP enacted the “midnight drama” as it was facing an “imminent defeat” in Karnataka.
The Congress leaders alleged that the saffron party had been using huge amounts of cash to influence the voters of the state.
They said the BJP enacted this drama in an apartment belonging to their own leader Manjula Nanjamari.
"BJP’s factory of lies has been caught red handed. Midnight Drama to divert attention has utterly failed. What is most tragic is that Union Cabinet Ministers, Prakash Javadekar and Ananth Kumar have resorted to blatant lies to mislead and malign. It is a fit case where ECI should register an FIR against BJP candidate from RR Nagar Assembly, as also BJP leaders for attempting to dupe and deceive," he said.
Manjula Nanjamari had rented the apartment to her adopted son Rakesh who contested the 2015 BBMP elections on a BJP ticket, Surjewala alleged.
"This is clear from the statement of Sridhar, son of Manjula Nanjamari," he alleged.
Surjewala also asked ECI to take note of the statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speech on Wednesday regarding voter ID cards having been seized. "It needs to be examined as to how did the Prime Minister has knowledge of the entire issue and what is the role of BJP’s top leadership and its ‘Dirty Tricks Department’ in the entire sordid episode," he demanded.
Meanwhile, Union Minister and senior BJP leader Prakash Javadekar sought to pin the blame on the ruling Congress party and demanded action against the sitting Congress MLA as he claimed that the latter was behind the entire episode.