Bengaluru: Karnataka Cooperation Minister KN Rajanna resigned from his cabinet post on Monday, hours after his comments on alleged electoral roll irregularities kicked up a storm within the party.
The senior Congress leader, a close aide of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, sent his resignation after a meeting with the CM in Vidhana Soudha. The Congress high command instructed Siddaramaiah to remove Rajanna from the cabinet, sources said.
Rajanna had gone against party the party line by publicly acknowledging that discrepancies in the voter list, which Rahul Gandhi recently described as “vote theft” in Bengaluru’s Mahadevapura constituency during last year’s Lok Sabha elections, had occurred when the Congress was in power.
“When was the voter list prepared? It was during our government’s tenure. At that time, was everyone just sitting quietly with eyes closed?” Rajanna said last week.
“These irregularities did take place, that’s the truth. They happened right in front of our eyes and we should feel ashamed. We didn’t act then, and we must be more alert in the future,” Rajanna said candidly, pointing out that leaders had a duty to raise objections promptly after draft electoral rolls are published, rather than remaining silent and raising issues later.
Rajanna also conceded that electoral fraud had taken place in Mahadevapura, the area Rahul had highlighted with ‘proof’ in his August 7 press conference. Rajanna questioned why no objections were filed at the time.
Rajanna’s comments drew sharp criticism from Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who rebutted the claims, defending the party’s track record and accusing the opposition of exploiting Rajanna’s statement.
BJP raised a ruckus in the Assembly over Rajanna’s comments, demanding that the Law & Parliamentary Affairs minister HK Patil and Rajanna clear the air. BJP legislators mocked the Congress for imposing gag orders on its members.
“There is no democracy within the Congress. If you tell the truth you are asked to resign,” said senior BJP leader CT Ravi.
