Congress Calls SIT Chargesheet in Aland Voter Deletion Case First Victory
Kalaburagi: While the Congress on Friday termed the Special Investigation Team’s (SIT) charge sheet over alleged illegal voter deletion in Aland as the “first victory” of the ‘Vote for Chori’ campaign, BJP leader and former MLA Subhash Guttedar dismissed the charges as politically motivated.
The SIT has filed a 22,000-page chargesheet with the First Additional Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Bengaluru in connection with the alleged deletion of thousands of names from the voter rolls ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections.
Those named in the indictment include former Aland MLA and BJP leader Subhash Guttedar, his son Harshanand Guttedar, his personal secretary Tipperudra and three persons (Mukaram Pasha, Mohammed Ashfaq and Akram Pasha) connected to a data centre. Sources said Bapi Adya, a youth from West Bengal, has also been named.
“This is our first victory,” said senior Congress leader and Aland MLA BR Patil Deccan Chronicle. Patil has been leading the campaign by repeatedly raising allegations of large-scale irregularities in voter deletions in Aland. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had addressed a press conference on the issue in New Delhi in September, which Patil also attended.
“Our allegations have been confirmed by the SIT investigation. The BJP has been exposed. This is just the beginning,” Patil said, adding that the next stage would be a legal fight in the court.
Rejecting the allegations, Guttedar said that the case was politically motivated. “BR Patil wants to silence me and prevent me from contesting the elections. These allegations were made to reflect closeness to the Prime Minister and later align with Rahul Gandhi,” he alleged, adding that the issue was raised more than two years after the election, revealing the political intent behind it.
Guttedar stated that he would challenge the charges legally and was confident that he would be acquitted. “Deleting voters is a legal process and cannot be done arbitrarily. Claims of ‘choir votes’ are completely unfounded,” he said.
The case arises from complaints that large-scale fraud was detected in Form-7 applications ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections, even though voters did not want their names deleted. Patil, along with Minister Priyank Kharge and MLC Ramesh, brought the issue to the notice of the Election Commission.
According to the Congress, attempts were made to delete the names of 5,994 voters in the Aland constituency. Following the complaint of the returning officer, the matter was investigated by the district police before being sent to the CID. The party alleged that during the CID investigation, the Election Commission ignored 18 requests for information, prompting the state government to set up an SIT.
The SIT, set up on September 20, is headed by CID Director General of Police BK Singh and its members are IPS officers Saidulu Adavat and Shubhanvita. Police station powers have been given across Karnataka under the rule of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
