Fake voter ID row: Karnataka CEO says no evidence that seized cards are bogus; BJP delegation meets EC

A day after close to 10,000 voter ID cards were seized from a flat in Rajarajeshwari Nagar Assembly constituency in Karnataka, the Election Commission of India  held a press conference on Wednesday confirming that the seized cards were genuine and not fake as claimed. [caption id=“attachment_305097” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. News18[/caption] “This is a very serious matter. Two people have been arrested as of now and there is a possibility of more arrests. The case is currently being investigated,” Sanjiv Kumar, Chief Election Officer (CEO) Karnataka, said on the ‘fake’ voter ID issue, as per ANI . “We are trying to reach the truth at the earliest. However, one thing is certain that nobody has broken into our system and no new voter ID cards have been made,” Kumar said. He said that the case was under observation and maintained that the cards were collected for a reason. “We have seized 9,896 cards,” he said, reiterating that the voter ID cards seized were genuine. Meanwhile, a BJP delegation comprising Smriti Irani, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, JP Nadda and Dharmendra Pradhan were to meet the Election Commission at 6 pm over the ‘fake’ voter ID issue.

BJP-Congress play blame game The BJP on Wednesday accused the Congress of hatching a conspiracy to “derail” free and fair polls and demanded that voting be postponed in the assembly segment in Bengaluru Urban district. “Five laptops, scanners and lamination machines and many voter ID cards were burnt before police reached the spot. Still, they recovered around 1 lakh counterfoils of Form-6. This shows a deep conspiracy to derail the free and fair election,” Union HRD Minister and party’s in-charge for Karnataka polls Prakash Javadekar told the media. BJP president Amit Shah also accused the Congress of using fake voter IDs to create fictitious voters and rig the Karnataka polls and urged the Election Commission (EC) to ensure free and fair polling in Rajarajeshwari Nagar and other parts of the state. Shah hit out at the Congress, saying their anti-democratic ways to succeed in elections would be thwarted. “Congress party should be ashamed of themselves! Everything about their party is fake — their tears for the poor, their claims of development, their commitment to social justice. Now, the Congress is using fake voter IDs to create fictitious voters and rig the 2018 Karnataka polls,” he said in a series of tweets. Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday accused the BJP of misusing the government machinery. While addressing the media, the chief minister said that the Congress is constantly under surveillance of the BJP, as per The Economic Times . “Congress is constantly under surveillance of BJP government. This is the 12th time, I am fighting elections but for the first time, these raids are being conducted at the time of elections. They are misusing government machinery,” Siddaramaiah said. “It is Election Commission’s job to investigate. I don’t have to say anything about it.” Late on Tuesday night, Kumar had said that 9,986 voter cards had been seized from a flat in the constituency. “In a surprise visit to a flat in Jalahalli locality, nearly 9,896 voter ID cards were found. Five laptops and one printer were also found in the flat,” he said. Over a lakh slips resembling acknowledgement slips used for adding names to the electoral rolls were also found. Voting in 223 of the 225 assembly constituencies of the state will be held on 12 May and the votes counted on 15 May. Follow LIVE updates on the Karnataka Assembly Election 2018 With inputs from agencies.