Accusing the BJP of bribing voters/legislators in the election to the post of President, the Congress on Tuesday complained to the Election Commission against the NDA Presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and sought declaration of all votes polled in favour of Ms. Murmu in Bengaluru as invalid.
The BJP legislators were summoned to a five-star hotel on July 17, the Congress said, adding that the legislators were provided with rooms, food, liquor, beverages, entertainment in the hotel in the guise of training the legislators on voting in the Presidential election. On July 18, the BJP legislators were brought to Vidhana Soudha where polling was being held in an air-conditioned bus from the hotel, the Congress pointed out in a complaint to the Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka.
The complaint signed by Congress Legislative Party leader Siddaramaiah, Leader of the Opposition in Legislative Council B.K. Hariprasad and KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar, was submitted by a Congress delegation comprising former Minister H.M. Revanna and former MP V.S. Ugrappa, among others.
The complaint said, “This is nothing but bribery and undue influence on the voters/ MLAs made on behalf of Ms. Murmu for the furtherance of the prospects in the election.”
It said that the BJP leadership has interfered in the free exercise of the electoral rights for which huge sums were spent on rooms, food, liquor, beverages and entertainment besides providing a bus and other vehicles to travel from the hotel to Vidhan Soudha. These are in clear violation of section 171B, 171C, 171E and 171F of the Indian Penal Code read with the provisions of section 18 (1)a of the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election Act 1952.”
In the light of these violations, the Congress urged the Election Commission to take action against Ms. Murmu, Mr. Bommai, BJP State President Nalin Kumar Kateel, Chief Whip Satish Reddy and former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa by filing a criminal case under the IPC provisions. It sought direction to the returning officer of the election of the President of India to treat all these votes polled in favour of NDA candidate Ms. Murmu in Vidhan Soudha, Bengaluru as invalid in the interest of free and fair election and uphold the meaningful democratic process in the election.
