‘Votegate is serious off ence, CM protecting culprits’, alleges DKS

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru:

The alleged electoral data theft by a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Chilume, is a serious offence and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai as well as senior cabinet ministers are protecting the culprits, said KPCC Chief DK Shivakumar on Friday. Speaking to media persons in Bengaluru, he said the Congress party is meeting with the State Election Commission (SEC) officers and demanding a high-level probe into this Votegate scandal.

The KPCC Chief debunked the ruling BJP government’s attempts to pass the blame to the previous government by stating that Chilume had been entrusted with similar work during the previous Congress regime. “If we have committed any fraud, let them arrest us. I don’t know which officer or minister gave such permission, which is totally wrong,’’ he said.

Shivakumar expressed surprise at the senior IAS officer and Additional Chief Secretary Gaurav Gupta’s overnight withdrawal of the permission given by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to Chilume Educational and Rural Development Trust to collect voter data by allegedly posing as Booth Level Officers (BLOs) through its staff by going door-to-door for the benefit of the ruling party and wondered how this serious fraud was allowed to happen.

The decision of the SEC to entrust probe into the entire mess to the Divisional Vigilance Commissioner (DVC) is unacceptable, the KPCC Chief said and demanded that this offence must be probed by a sitting judge of the State High Court to inspire confidence in the inquiry.

Shivakumar said there are serious allegations that the Chilume Trust officials collected sensitive information by visiting houses in all the 28 assembly constituencies and sharing the same with the ruling party. There are also allegations that names of voters have been dropped in large numbers in several places.

This issue of staff belonging to a private NGO posing as government officials and wearing official badges is very serious, he said. Search underway: Top cop The Bengaluru police have said that a search is underway for the officiating directors and members of Chilume. On Friday, police commissioner Pratap Reddy said that the NGO’s office will be searched today.

“Since our inquiry has just begun, we cannot substantially say that the officiating directors and members of Chilumer were missing. Different teams under the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Bengaluru central have been formed and deployed. Soon after the FIR was filed, a police guard was nominated,” Reddy told media personnel.

“A search of the NGO and its premises will be conducted today. Some people have been accused of identifying themselves to be part of private organisations and booth level officers by illegitimate ID cards. A few have been named in the complaints, we are investigating if others are involved,” he added.