Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018: Congress wants BJP candidate Sriramulu disqualified

Video allegedly shows the Karnataka BJP candidate offering a bribe to relative of former SC judge

Congress leaders including Kapil Sibal and Moti Lal Vora submitted a petition to the Election Commission on Friday demanding that BJP candidate B. Sriramulu be disqualified from contesting the Karnataka elections.

The Congress on Friday petitioned the Election Commission (EC) seeking disqualification of BJP candidate B. Sriramulu, who is contesting against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah from the Badami constituency, after an eight-year-old video surfaced in the public domain where the candidate is allegedly seen offering a bribe to a relative of a former Supreme Court Judge.

“We have requested the Election Commission to disqualify B. Sriramulu from contesting and lodge an FIR against all those who appear in the video,” said senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal after meeting the poll panel.

In a three-page memorandum, the party made four demands, including lifting the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer’s ban on local Kannada channels from showing the video and lodging an FIR against those seen in the video.

On Thursday, the Congress released two sting videos, believed to have shot in 2010, where BJP leaders B. Sriramulu and G. Janardhana Reddy were allegedly seen negotiating with the son-in-law of a former Supreme Court Judge to get a favourable verdict in a mining scam.

‘Lift ban on telecast’

“This ban must be immediately lifted as the video is in the public domain and the kind of deal that is going on between politicians and judiciary must be part of the public discourse,”’ said Mr. Sibal.

Another demand of the party was to curb some local channels including one owned by BJP MP Rajeev Chandrashekhar, from showing “provocative” programmes.

“BJP is now Bhrast (corrupt) Janardhan Party and we have placed very specific demands before the Election Commission,” said Congress’ communication chief Randeep Singh Surjewala.