Bengaluru, Oct 3 (SocialNews.XYZ) Karnataka Leader of the Opposition (LoP) R. Ashoka on Saturday charged the state government with indulging in “goondaism” and alleged that the police were being used to target BJP workers who had submitted Form 7 applications.
Form 7 is an application prescribed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) for objecting to the inclusion of a person's name in the electoral roll or seeking the deletion of a name from the voter list.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting, Ashoka stated: “Filing Form 7 is our right. It is for the Election Commission to decide whether a voter’s records are correct or not.”
He said that expecting Election Commission officials to act according to the wishes of the Congress was unconstitutional.
Ashoka said that Form 6 and Form 7 were prescribed applications under the electoral process and alleged that Congress leaders had protested outside the Election Commission office against the filing of Form 7 applications and pressured election authorities to initiate criminal cases against those who submitted them.
“Because of this, police are registering criminal cases against BJP workers. All police stations have become Congress offices,” he alleged.
Referring to the Kogilu Cross area in Bengaluru, Ashoka alleged that Bangladeshi nationals had been brought and settled on 15 acres of land and that attempts had been made to include more than 300 families in the electoral rolls.
He said that the BJP had opposed the move and approached the court.
Ashoka further alleged that former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and ministers B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan and Krishna Byre Gowda had supported the residents and that a decision had been taken to provide them with houses, which was later withdrawn.
He alleged that the Congress was opposing Form 7 applications because of concerns over the deletion of names of alleged illegal immigrants from electoral rolls.
“Because of this, the Congress is afraid of defeat everywhere. That is why Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and all the ministers staged a sit-in in front of the Election Commission office,” Ashoka said.
He alleged that Congress leaders had earlier posted about the protest on social media and later denied holding a sit-in.
He said the BJP had submitted a complaint to the Police Commissioner and that the Congress had subsequently issued a statement denying that such a protest had taken place.
Ashoka said BJP workers would not withdraw from the issue even if police cases were registered against them.
“Even if the police register cases, BJP workers will not back down. If the cases are not withdrawn, we will intensify the agitation further,” he said.
Questioning objections to the filing of Form 7, Ashoka said applications could be printed and submitted online in accordance with the prescribed process.
He also rejected allegations that the applications had been printed by the RSS.
He accused the Congress of lecturing the BJP on constitutional issues despite its own historical record, referring to the Emergency imposed by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Ashoka also warned police officers against misusing their powers and said they would have to face consequences if they acted improperly.
“The government will last only one more year. If police officers misuse their power, they will have to regret it later,” he said.
Ashoka added that an NDA government would come to power in the state and that action would be taken against officers who misused their authority.
On the drought situation, Ashoka said a Central government team had arrived in Karnataka to assess the situation and urged the state government to provide accurate figures on crop losses and the impact of the drought.
“It is not merely an inspection. Accurate figures must be given to them,” he said.
Ashoka claimed that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government had provided twice the relief compared with the previous Manmohan Singh government and alleged that the Congress government in Karnataka had failed to provide adequate relief to farmers.
He said the BJP would independently inspect drought-affected areas in the first phase, including Chikkaballapur, Doddaballapur, Chamarajanagar and Mandya.
“We will also visit places where farmers have died by suicide,” he said.
Ashoka and other BJP leaders on Friday urged the Director General of Police (DGP) to stop registering FIRs against people who have submitted Form 7 applications seeking the deletion of names from electoral rolls.
Former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, BJP State President and MLA B.Y. Vijayendra, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, MPs and MLAs, along with Ashoka, met the DGP and submitted a memorandum.
Source: IANS
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