The BJP has decided to petition the Election Commission of India seeking disqualification of Ballari MP E. Tukaram in the wake of the Enforcement Directorate’s allegation in its chargesheet that the money siphoned off from Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Ltd. was used by the Congress for the Lok Sabha elections in Ballari.
At a press conference here on Friday, BJP ST Morcha president Bangaru Hamanumanthu said party leader B. Sriramulu, who lost the Lok Sabha election against Mr. Tukaram, would also file a petition before the High Court of Karnataka in this regard.
Referring to the ED’s chargesheet alleging that ₹21 crore from the corporation had been used for the Lok Sabha election in Ballari, Mr. Hanumanthu alleged that ₹25,000 had been given to each polling booth by the Congress ahead of the election.
Demanding that both Mr. Tukaram and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who also holds the Finance portfolio, should quit in the wake of irregularities in the corporation, he said the BJP ST Morcha would hold protests in all the district centres of the State from Saturday to build pressure on them to quit.
Published - September 13, 2024 10:51 pm IST
