New Delhi:
A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) delegation comprising Union Ministers Smriti Irani, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, JP Nadda, SS Ahluwalia and Dharmendra Pradhan met the Election Commission (EC) at around 6 pm on Wednesday.
The meeting took place in order to discuss the issue of fake voter identity cards found in Raja Rajeshwari Nagar Assembly constituency in Karnataka on Tuesday.
"We are trying to reach the truth at the earliest. However, one thing is certain that nobody has broken into our system & no new voter ID cards have been made," ANI quoted Sanjiv Kumar, Chief Election Officer.
Talking about the latest development BJP MP Smriti Irani said, "voter IDs are proof of voter confidence and to reinstate that, elections to Rajarajeshwari constituency must be countermanded and we've put forward this demand to EC".
Earlier in the day, the Congress petitioned the Election Commission (EC), demanding action against the BJP over the fake voter ID scam.
"A delegation of the Congress party has just met the EC officials. We have submitted a detailed memorandum about the malpractices of the BJP and a concerted attempt by the ruling party, with the assistance of central agencies, including the Income Tax department, to subvert the process of free-and-fair elections, target Congress candidates, carry out midnight raids and enact conspiracies," senior Congress leader Anand Sharma told PTI after his meeting with EC officials.
#Visuals: A BJP delegation comprising Union Ministers Smriti Irani, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, JP Nadda, Dharmendra Pradhan & SS Ahluwalia reach Election commission over the issue of 9,746 voter identity cards found in bundles in a Bengaluru flat. #KarnatakaElection2018 pic.twitter.com/kXBGySUIOP
— ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2018
Read | Karnataka polls: Political blamegame after 10,000 voter IDs found in Bengaluru flat; EC orders probe
Last night, 9,746 voter ID cards were found from a flat in SLV Park View Apartment in Bengaluru's Jalahalli locality. The Election Commission's revelation of the scam at midnight was followed by political sparring, as both BJP and Congress alleged the other's links with the concerned flat.
While BJP leader and Union Minister Prakash Javadekar accused the Congress of attempting to rig the elections, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala alleged that Nanjamuri rented her own flat to his son Rakesh, who contested corporation election on a BJP ticket in 2015.
However, Sridhar Nanjamari on Wednesday rebuffed such allegations and told ANI he was the only son of Manjula Nanjamuri.
"I am the only son of Manjula Nanjamari. Rakesh is my mother's nephew's son and he has got no connections with the flat in Park View apartment, as is what claimed in media," Sridhar said and added that the flat has been rented to Rangaraju who pays rent for it every month.
Read | Rahul Gandhi's 'ready to be PM' remark shows his 'arrogance': Modi
The election in Karnataka will take place on May 12 in 223 constituencies out of 224 of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly. The election for one constituency has been postponed following the death of B.N. Vijay Kumar, Jayanagar BJP candidate. The counting of votes and announcement of result will take place on May 15.
(With inputs from agencies)
