
Karnataka govt using same rolls for caste census, sign declaration on voter theft or apologise: EC tells Rahul Gandhi
Regardless of the format of the complaint, it's the EC's job to purify the rolls whenever discrepancies are pointed out.
ECI officials said Rahul was repeating a tired script. 'In 2018, they (then MP Congress chief Kamal Nath) tried to mislead SC by producing documents from a private website to demonstrate that there are errors in the electoral rolls, saying same face was shown for 36 voters,' an official said.
'But, the defects had already been rectified four months before Nath made the allegations and a copy of revised rolls was supplied to the party. Yet, Nath sought the poll rolls in a searchable pdf format. The SC refused to entertain it, agreeing with the EC's position that it would affect voter privacy.'
Can prove vote theft, says Rahul
Gandhi said if EC provides him 10 years of data, the voters' list in machine-readable format and videos of polling stations, he can prove theft of voters in several Lok Sabha seats across the country.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New Indian Express
17 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Messi Kerala visit row escalates as govt, Argentine FA trade blame; Opposition alleges waste of Rs 130 crore
KOCHI: The Messi-in-Kerala dream has spiralled into a full-blown slugfest, with the Argentine Football Association (AFA) and the state government trading blame over the collapse of the plan. On Saturday, reports claimed AFA official Leandro Peterson had accused the Kerala government of breaching the contract, a charge dismissed by Sports Minister V Abdurahiman as 'baseless', insisting that if the team skipped the October visit, it would be the AFA in breach. The fresh twist has emboldened the Opposition Congress to go on the offensive, demanding that the government explain how a high-profile project, for which sponsors say they paid Rs 130 crore and the state spent lakhs on foreign trips, has spiralled into confusion, contract disputes and allegations of public money being wasted. Abdurahiman had dampened football lovers' hopes earlier this week, saying the visit by the Argentina team was 'unlikely' to happen as planned. As per some media reports, Leandro denied his side had breached the contract by postponing the tour to next year and instead pinned the blame on the Kerala government, though without detailing the alleged violations. The minister dismissed the reports and reiterated that Kerala was not interested in hosting the team next year. Govt should come clean, says Cong 'If Argentina fail to visit Kerala in October, we will see it as a breach of contract and a case of cheating. We are actively trying to bring the team here as per the contract. When a country signs the contract and accepts the money in this, what else do we have to say,' he told reporters in Malappuram.


Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Chhattisgarh's latest scheme aims to get stray cattle off the roads
With the aim of stopping accidents due to the presence of cattle on roads, as well as to strengthen the rural economy, the Chhattisgarh government is set to launch Gaudham Yojana, where stray cattle will be kept in shelters and locals will get paid to graze and look after them, officials said. This initiative will also promote organic farming, fodder development and cow-based industries, they said. The Indian Express reported last year that 404 people had died and 129 were seriously injured after the vehicles they were travelling in crashed into animals, mostly cattle, in Chhattisgarh over a period of five and a half years. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said, 'The Gaudham Yojana will protect livestock and generate jobs in villages. Breed improvement efforts will help cattle produce more milk and make them more useful for agriculture.' Shahla Nigar, Agriculture Production Commissioner and Secretary, told The Indian Express that the scheme would ensure permanent shelter for stray cattle, getting them off the roads and preventing accidents. 'It will also ensure they do not stray into farms, damaging crops. We will also provide training for the production of cow dung and cow urine-based products, such as vermicompost, pest repellents, cow wood, gonoil, lamps, tooth powder and incense sticks, and help market them,' Nigar said. 'In the first phase, gaudhams (cow shelters) will be established in rural areas located along major national highways,' the officer said. Each gaudham will be able to house a maximum of 200 cattle, depending on capacity. Under the Gaudham Yojana, cowherds will receive a monthly honourarium of Rs 10,916, while cattle attendants will get Rs 13,126. Additionally, a fixed daily allowance will be provided for cattle fodder. Similar schemes had also been launched by the previous Congress-run government in the state. A government source said, 'This move by the BJP government is not only an attempt to revive and strengthen the incomplete and failed plan of the previous government, but also a concrete and politically significant initiative aimed at providing a permanent solution to the issue of stray cattle on roads. The Gaudham scheme is expected to boost both cattle protection and the rural economy in Chhattisgarh.' These Gaudhams will be established only on government land with secure fencing, cattle sheds, adequate water supply, and electricity, officials said.


Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Today in Politics: PM in Bengaluru; J&K Congress steps up statehood demand
On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Bengaluru to inaugurate the Yellow Line of Bangalore Metro and the Vande Bharat Express train between Bengaluru and Belagavi. The PM will additionally visit the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Bengaluru. The visit comes just days after senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's accusations of 'voter fraud' in a Bengaluru seat. On Thursday, Gandhi accused the poll body and the BJP of perpetrating 'a huge criminal fraud' in elections. To back his accusation, Gandhi released what he called findings of an investigation the Congress had carried out in the Mahadevapura Assembly constituency that is part of the Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka. In a presentation to the media at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters, Gandhi said the Congress won all the Assembly segments in Bangalore Central except Mahadevpura and lost the election by 1,14,046 votes. 'They were stolen in five different ways: duplicate voters, fake and invalid addresses, bulk voters in a single address, invalid photos, and misuse of Form 6, which is given to first-time voters for enrolment,' Gandhi said. The LoP said the Congress analysis revealed 11,965 duplicate voters, 40,009 fake and invalid addresses, 10,452 bulk voters with the same address, 4,132 invalid photos, and 33,692 instances of Form 6 misuse. Gandhi alleged there were instances of one person appearing in 'four polling booths' and voting in multiple booths. 'There are thousands of such voters who have voted multiple times in different states. A total of 11,965 votes have been stolen like this,' the LoP said, showing voter lists with the photograph of a person whom he identified as Gurkirat Singh Dang. Gandhi claimed Dang's name figured in voter lists in four different polling booths in Mahadevpura. Gandhi then showed voter lists with the photograph of a person whom he identified as Adtiya Srivastava, and claimed the person in question was enrolled as a voter in two polling booths in Karnataka and one each in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. '… Same name, the same address, the same person in four different polling booths. And this is not just one person, this is thousands of people in one Assembly,' he said. On Friday, he urged the Congress-led Karnataka government to investigate alleged irregularities in the Bangalore Central constituency during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and initiate action against the culprits behind it. Addressing the Congress's 'Vote Adhikar Rally' at Freedom Park in Bengaluru, Gandhi asked the EC to share the digital voter list of constituencies across India compiled in the last 10 years along with CCTV footage recorded at polling booths in elections during this period. 'Here (in Karnataka), one Lok Sabha seat was stolen. This is a criminal act against the people of the state. The Karnataka government should investigate this and take action,' Gandhi said. On Saturday, Jammu and Kashmir Congress leaders sat on a hunger strike to press for the restoration of the Union territory's statehood. The strike was launched by Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president Tariq Karra at the party's head office at M A Road in Srinagar. A similar hunger strike will be observed in Jammu on Sunday. Speaking to reporters, Karra said the party has launched a 'struggle to awaken the blind, deaf and dumb government in Delhi'. 'We selected this day as it is the day when the 'Quit India Movement' was launched. From August 9 to 21, the party will observe six hunger strikes across various districts of J-K,' he said. Last month, J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah made a plea to the Centre for restoring statehood. 'We're not asking for something that is not our due. Statehood is the right, it was promised to the people,' he had said on July 20. What would restoration of statehood mean for J&K? What would it take for that to happen? — With PTI inputs