BENGALURU: The Karnataka Congress on Tuesday filed a complaint against the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu for "violation of the law" and "interfering with the free exercise of the electoral rights of the voters/MLAs".
They have also asked the CEC to declare all 122 votes cast by Karnataka BJP as invalid.
The complaint also names chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel, BJP senior leader B S Yediyurappa and party chief whip Satish Reddy along with the ministers and legislators.
The complaint filed by KPCC president D K Shivakumar, was submitted to the chief electoral officer (CEO) by a party delegation led by former Lok Sabha MP V S Ugrappa, former MLC H M Revanna and others.
In the complaint, Shivakumar has claimed that the BJP candidate Murmu’s consent was taken and accordingly CM Bommai, Kateel, Yediyurappa, Satish Reddy and other senior leaders "summoned all the MLAs of BJP to the five star hotel i.e Shangrila, Vasanathanagara, Bengaluru on July 17 and provided luxurious rooms, food, liquor/beverages/drinks, entertainment in the said hotel in the guise of training session for the MLAs on voting in the Presidential election."
It may be recalled, the BJP had in fact issued a whip to all its 120 MLAs, along with the two independents, to assembly two days before the elections at a five star hotel in Bengaluru to avoid any last minute delays or uncertainties due to rains.
The MLAs were all ferried in a chartered bus with CM Bommai and Yediyurappa at the forefront.
According to the complaint, the cases must be filed against the BJP leadership and the Presidential candidate for violating the peoples’ representation act and IPC sections 171 (b to f) read with 18 (1) of Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections act of 1952.
"We have further demanded in our complaint that the 120 or 122 votes, how many ever has been cast by the BJP, should be declared invalid as their support was procured by way of electoral offences," said the former MP.
Chief electoral office (CEO) Manoj Kumar Meena, who received the complaint, has said the same was dispatched to the chief election commission (CEC).
"The complaint has been received from the Congress party and we have forwarded it to the CEC. It is now up to the CEC on how to proceed further," said Meena.
