Acting on a tip, a team of officials raided a godown on the outskirts of the city on Thursday night and seized more than 400 bundles of saris suspected to be meant for luring voters in Hunsur Assembly constituency.
The raid was led by Assistant Commissioner N.C. Venkatraju. It is reckoned that 20,000 to 30,000 saris were stored in the godown.
On Friday, the Congress complained to the Election Commission that the BJP was violating the model code of conduct and that the saris seized from the godown at Hootagalli had photos of BJP leader C.P. Yogeshwar and others. M. Lakshmana of the Congress said in the complaint that this was in clear violation of Representation of the People Act, 1951 and demanded that an FIR be filed against Mr. Yogeshwar and A.H. Vishwanath, the BJP candidate from Hunsur.
The Congress alleged that the BJP government in the State was threatening poll officers and not allowing them to work freely. It called upon the Election Commission to direct the district administration and the police in Mysuru to keep extra vigil in the run-up to the byelections.
Janata Dal (S) leader and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, meanwhile, said the raid and seizure of saris was proof that the BJP was trying to lure voters using freebies. He accused the saffron party for ignoring citizen’s issues such as floods and claimed that it has been preparing for elections for two months.
Total seizures
In all, the election authorities have seized cash, campaign material and goods (including the saris) worth ₹94.69 lakh from bypoll-bound constituencies.
The EC has deployed 168 flying squads and 401 static surveillance teams to enforce the model code of conduct. Cumulatively, flying squads have registered FIRs in 29 cases. The Excise Department has seized 66.5 litres of IML and other liquor worth ₹29,370.
