Stating that “great injustice” would be done if the Chief Election Commission of India (CEC) decided to hold elections in Karnataka without taking necessary steps to “set right the existing large-scale anomalies” in the voters list, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee(KPCC) President Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday said that the party would make a representation in this regard to the CEC during the latter’s visit here on March 4.

Kharge, speaking to reporters here on Sunday, wondered how the CEC could hold elections when more than 58 lakh bogus voters existed in the State. “The CEC himself has gone on record that one in every five voter is a bogus voter. These voters were included in the list during the JD(S)-BJP rule,” he said.

Kharge took strong exception to the measures initiated by the deputy commissioners to remove the bogus voters from the lists.

“These deputy commissioners, to appease the Election Commission have randomly cut the names of 25 per cent of voters from the lists without carrying out the door to door surveys. We have prepared the lists of bogus voters still left in some assembly constituencies and they would be presented to the CEC”, Kharge stated.

He welcomed the sops announced by Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram for various sections of society, mainly the farmers, minorities and SC/STs. Kharge also thanked Governor Rameshwar Thakur for announcing a subsidy of Rs 160 per tonne of sugar cane over and above the MSP fixed by the Centre. 

Referring to the State budget which would be presented in the Parliament on March 7, Kharge hoped that it would be pro-farmer and pro-poor. “We have already made representations to the authorities to give importance for irrigation, housing, and such other sectors in the budget besides making sufficient allocations for the implementation of Dr Nanjundappa committee report,” he added.

Admitting that injustice has been done to the State in the allocation of funds for railway projects, Kharge said he had already discussed the issue with State MPs. “The MPs have already taken up the matter with the Railway Minister who has promised to address the issue during his reply on the budget,” he added.

Appointed

Meanwhile, KPCC has appointed executive committee members for its minority cell. It comprises seven vice chairmen, one treasurer, five conveners, 20 joint conveners, 25 secretaries, 15 joint secretaries and equal number of organising secretaries, according to a release from the Cell’s chairman C R Sageer Ahmed.