Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Monday sacked state cooperation minister K.N. Rajanna for making statements that contradicted the Congress’s stand on “vote theft”.
Rajanna, a Siddaramaiah loyalist, drew the ire of the Congress high command when he allegedly blamed his party-led government in Karnataka for the “vote theft” in the Mahadevapura Assembly segment during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Rahul Gandhi had recently claimed that there were over one lakh bogus voters in the Mahadevapura Assembly segment under Bengaluru Central parliamentary constituency, and that the BJP government at the Centre came to power because of “vote theft”.
Admitting that the “vote theft” happened, Rajanna blamed the Congress government for it. He said that the party had failed to address the alleged lapses in the voters’ list before the polls.
“At that time, was everyone just sitting quietly with eyes closed? These irregularities did take place in the Mahadevapura constituency, that’s the truth. It’s a shame for us that we did not monitor it,” he told reporters
in Bengaluru.
“One voter was registered in three different places, which saw him voting from all three places. But when the draft electoral rolls were prepared, we should have monitored them. Our responsibility is to file objections. We kept quiet then,” he added.
Rajanna’s comments left the Congress red-faced and gave the BJP ammo to target the Siddaramaiah government.
During the Karnataka Assembly session on Monday, BJP legislators demanded that law and parliamentary affairs minister H.K. Patil and Rajanna clear the air.
Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka sought to know the specific allegations against Rajanna. He argued that if Rajanna was no longer a minister, he should not be allowed to sit on the Treasury bench.