Voter data ‘theft’ : K’taka govt, poll body order probes

The allegations against the NGO are that its field agents posed as government officials and collected personal information, including caste, education, mother tongue and Aadhaar numbers, of thousands of voters in the state capital.

Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai and the state’s chief electoral officer said on Sunday that probes were launched into allegations against NGO Chilume of impersonating government officials to collect voter data in Bengaluru since 2013.

Basavaraj Bommai said that the NGO had been associated with the survey since 2013, when the Congress was in power in the state. (PTI)

The allegations are based on a report published by The News Minute last week. The Opposition Congress had demanded Bommai’s resignation over the issue.

Speaking to reporters at his residence on Sunday, Bommai said that the NGO had been associated with the survey since 2013, when the Congress was in power in the state.

“I have directed officials concerned to probe the case from 2013. They will ascertain when for the first time the contract to conduct such door-to-door survey was assigned to the Chilume Educational Cultural and Rural Development Institute (Chilume Trust) and what was the content of the order. Our objective is to bring out all the facts,” Bommai said.

The allegations against the NGO are that its field agents posed as government officials and collected personal information, including caste, education, mother tongue and Aadhaar numbers, of thousands of voters in the state capital.

The state’s chief electoral officer, Manoj Kumar Meena, said on Sunday: “The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) commissioner had some information. We have the apprehension that there is impersonation and it has to be inquired. Ultimately, after the police investigation and our Divisional Commissioner inquiry, we will come to know what is there in it.”

His comments came a day after a delegation of the Karnataka Congress, led by its chief D K Shivakumar and leader of opposition Siddaramaiah submitted to him a formal complaint alleging electoral fraud, malpractice, and manipulation of the voters’ list.

The two leaders had earlier asked for a review of the deletion of 2.7 million voters from the list. They claimed that the voters’ data was “stolen by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to suit its advantage”.

Meanwhile, CM Bommai on Sunday refuted the Congress’s charge over the 2.7 million voters saying changes in the voters’ list are under the purview of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and not the government. He also termed the Opposition’s allegations as “politically motivated.”

Bommai also welcomed the complaint lodged by the Congress with the ECI, saying “the truth will come out after the investigation and justice will prevail”.

(With inputs from agencies)