Karnataka election: Rahul slams Modi over BJP leader bribery sting; updates

With just one more day to go for the Karnataka Assembly election, the voter ID card row continues while the Congress corners BJP over an alleged bribery sting. Catch all Karnataka polls updates here

BS Web Team  |  New Delhi 

Karnataka elections, Amit Shah
Karnataka Assembly election 2018: Amit Shah addressing an election rally on the last day of campaigning in Karnataka. Photo: ANI

With voting just a day away, the BJP and Congress' high-voltage campaign for the Karnataka Assembly election 2018 has ended. The campaigning in the run-up to the crucial polls saw everything from a cross-fire of barbs to a voter ID row. On the last day, Congress President Rahul Gandhi slammed the Modi government for issues ranging from atrocities against Dalits to the country's foreign policy as he expressed confidence in winning the Karnataka polls "hands down". BJP President Amit Shah, meanwhile, accused the Congress of making desperate attempts to win the election in an "undemocratic" way, adding that such machinations would not work and that his party would win 130-plus seats. On Saturday, voters in the state will decide who got it right.

The Congress' candidate from Bengaluru's Raja Rajeshwari Nagar Assembly segment has been booked in connection with the recovery of close to 10,000 voter ID cards from a flat there, along with over 100,000 counterfoils resembling acknowledgement slips used for addition of names into electoral rolls. Further, the Election Commission (EC) on Thursday night deferred a decision on the recovery of voter ID cards from the Raja Rajeshwari Nagar flat, even as it sought fresh information from the state election machinery.

Of course, the end of the official election campaign at 5 pm on Thursday did not mean that the allegations and accusations also stopped. Rahul Gandhi on Thursday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over allegations that BJP leader B Sriramulu had bribed former Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan. The accusation is based on a "sting" video showing the state BJP leader allegedly trying to bribe a kin of the former Chief Justice of India to get a favourable verdict for mining baron G Janardhana Reddy in an illegal mining case. State electoral authorities on Thursday directed TV news channels not to air the video.

The election in 223 of the 224 constituencies in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly will be held on May 12, and the counting of votes and announcement of the result will take place on May 15. The election for one constituency has been postponed following the death of B N Vijay Kumar, the Jayanagar BJP candidate.

Here are the top 10 developments around the Karnataka Assembly election 2018:

1) Rahul Gandhi says Modi, Yeddyurappa getting ready to 'loot Karnataka', cites 'sting' video: Rahul Gandhi on Thursday attacked Modi, alleging that BJP's B Sriramulu had bribed former CJI Balakrishnan, seeking an order favouring a mining company owned by G Janardhan Reddy. Levelling the charge, the Congress party also demanded a high-level inquiry into the matter.

"This is how Modi and Yeddy (B S Yeddyurappa) are getting 'Reddy' to loot Karnataka. Fortunately, the people of Karnataka will not let that happen," tweeted Gandhi as he attached a National Herald news report with a headline "Sting videos: Congress alleges BJP's B. Sriramulu involved in bribing then CJI in 2010".

The news report said: "Alleging that then Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishna gave a favourable order to a mining company owned by G Janardhan Reddy a day before the CJI retired in 2010, Karnataka Congress claimed on Thursday that Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) had been paid by Reddy for the order."

"Just one day before CJI Balakrishnan retired, he passed an order in a case related to Reddy brothers mining company," Karnataka Congress tweeted quoting state's working President Dinesh Gundu Rao. "Now, several videos have been released which show how bribe deals were done between CJI's son-in-law and Sriramulu/Reddy brothers," Karnataka Congress tweeted Rao's statement at a press conference.


The party alleged that just one day before the then CJI retired, he passed an order in a case related to Reddy brothers' Oblapuram Mining Company. It said that the videos that surfaced showed how Sriramulu, middlemen, and the son-in-law of the former CJI discussed bribe deals, hoping to get a favourable judgment from the Supreme Court in the Obalipuram case.

2) Authorities direct TV channels not to air 'sting' video of BJP leader: TV news channels were on Thursday directed by state electoral authorities air the "sting" video showing BJP's Sriramulu allegedly trying to bribe a kin of former CJI Balakrishnan for a favourable verdict for mining baron G Janardhana Reddy. The direction came hours after State Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy called what the Congress described as an 'explosive press conference' and released the video clippings which were in circulation on social media.

Read our detailed wrap on the last day of campaigning for the Karnataka Assembly election 2018: Karnataka election campaign ends; Shah says BJP will win at least 130 seats

Sriramulu is a confidant of tainted mining baron and owner of Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) Janardhana Reddy, according to news agencies. He is contesting from two constituencies -- Molakalmuru and Badami -- in the May 12 Karnataka Assembly polls. In Badami, he is pitted against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Janardhan Reddy-owned Obalapuram Mining Company (OMC) was involved in an illegal mining controversy, wherein they removed boundary pillars between Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh (AP). In November 2009, the Government of AP issued an order prohibiting OMC's illegal mining operations.

In February 2010, a Division Bench of the High Court (HC) of Andhra Pradesh quashed the government order and allowed the mining operations conducted by the OMC. Anticipating that the government of AP would challenge the HC order in the Supreme Court through a Special Leave Petition (SLP), a communication was exchanged by OMC in order to dismiss the SLP, stating that the apex court should not interfere in state matters.

This was followed by a hearing in the Supreme Court in the month of March, where the government of AP filed its SLP. The apex court ordered a survey to determine the extent of the claims and in the meanwhile issued the maintenance of status-quo. The survey's interim report in April recommended that mining be stopped entirely in light of grave irregularities.

However, on May 10, the Supreme Court allowed OMC to continue its mining operations. Chief Justice Balakrishnan retired the next day, on May 11.

When asked about the purported sting videos, BJP president Amit Shah said at a press conference, "Do not believe in such fake stings which make rounds now and then."

The Congress has been criticising the BJP and Prime Minister Modi for their decision to give tickets to eight persons from the Reddy "camp", including his brothers G Somashekara Reddy and G Karunakara Reddy.

Congress candidate N Munirathna Naidu from Bengaluru's Raja Rajeshwari Nagar Assembly segment has been booked in connection with the recovery of about 10,000 voter ID cards from a flat, along with over a 100,000 counterfoils of acknowledgement slips, police said on Thursday. "He (Naidu) was named as an accused in the FIR registered on Thursday on the basis of a complaint over the recovery of the voter ID cards from the apartment," Additional Commissioner of Police (West) Bijay Kumar Singh told news agencies.

Naidu is also an outgoing legislator of the ruling party from the same constituency he is contesting in the May 12 Karnataka Assembly polls.

The Congress candidate was booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Representation of People Act, 1951, for bribery and undue influence in an election.

Singh told news agencies that the police had arrested two persons on Wednesday -- one for committing the electoral offence of keeping a large number of voter cards there and another for breaking into the apartment where the voter cards and counterfoils were kept without informing the EC authorities.

7) EC defers decision on recovery of fake voter ID cards in Karnataka: The Election Commission on Thursday night deferred a decision on the recovery of voter ID cards from a flat in Raja Rajeshwari Nagar Assembly seat, even as it sought fresh information from the state election machinery. Highly-placed sources in the Commission told news agencies that prima facie, it seems that most of the voter ID cards recovered were "genuine". However, the reason as to why they were found in the flat was still being ascertained.

The Commission, the sources said, deliberated on the issue and decided to seek more information from the state election administration before arriving at a conclusion.

If the EC finds that a fraud was involved, it could cancel the election to the constituency. Further, if the EC is able to ascertain that an attempt was made to stop people from voting, it can cancel the poll. "Now, we have to ensure that genuine voters can cast their votes using voter slips distributed to electors. Also, the machinery has to ensure that no voter is intimidated," an official had told news agencies on Wednesday.

8) BJP's Mungantiwar hints at BJP-JD(S) post-poll coalition; Amit Shah shoots down notion: Senior BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar on Thursday said that a hung Assembly in Karnataka could force the BJP to align with the Janata Dal (Secular). He said that the party could not afford to get stuck around the 100-seat mark in the Karnataka Assembly polls. "If we do, the party may once again have to align with the JD(S)," he said. He added that the Congress, too, might be toying with the idea of extending outside support to a JD-S government.

However, Amit Shah ruled out a hung Assembly. Shah also said there was no question of seeking support from any party to form the government in Karnataka. "There is no question of hung Assembly... We are far ahead of the halfway mark. As per the feedback I have gathered from my leaders and party workers, we are winning more than 130 seats and there is no question of seeking support from anyone to form government," he told reporters in Bengaluru on Thursday.

9) SC rejects Muthalik's plea on Congress manifesto: The Supreme Court on Thursday observed that assuring minorities on alleviation of their socio-economic backwardness does not amount to corrupt practice and rejected Rashtriya Hindu Sena chief Pramod Muthalik's plea alleging that the Congress was seeking votes by using religion in its poll manifesto in Karnataka.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra also referred to various judgements and said since 1952 until 2017, the top court has ruled that "once the poll process begins, no court shall interfere with it".

The counsel for Muthalik referred to a 7-judge Bench judgement of 2017 and said it has been held that the practice of seeking votes in the name of religion was a "corrupt" act. He sought a direction from the Bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, that the Congress be asked to remove certain clauses from its manifesto assuring sops to minorities on the ground of religion.

"Assuring minorities to alleviate their social and economic backwardness is not an appeal to seek votes in the name of religion," the Bench said, dismissing Muthalik's plea.

BJP IT department in-charge Amit Malviya on Thursday claimed that Prime Minister Modi, through the live video interactions on the 'NaMo' app, has created a unique way of electioneering and reached out to 2.5 million people, which included the party's candidates, workers, and supporters, in Karnataka.

With agency inputs
First Published: Fri, May 11 2018. 09:06 IST