Karnataka Minister KN Rajanna Resigns After Voter List Remark Upsets Congress Leadership

Karnataka Minister KN Rajanna Resigns After Voter List: Karnataka minister KN Rajanna, who had sparked a row with his remarks on Congress voter list claims, has resigned, sources said. The minister, a loyalist of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, had said that irregularities in the electoral rolls -- the big allegation from the Congress camp -- happened in the state when the Congress was in power.

He had met the Chief Minister in the Vidhana Soudha and then sent in his resignation, sources said.

The BJP, which had raised a ruckus in the assembly over his comments -- demanding that Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil and Rajanna clarify -- jeered that the Congress is imposing gag orders on its members and there is no democracy in the party.

According to reports, Rajanna submitted his resignation to CM Siddaramaiah as per the party instructions. Speaking to the media before meeting the CM, Rajanna said, “I am going to meet the CM now. I don’t know what it is about. I am not the one to stick to power. I make decisions based on the issue. I don’t know what the high command is upset about. No one from the high command has spoken to me. I will only speak after the high command has given instructions.”

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The row began after Rajanna commented on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s rally in Bengaluru last week, during which Rahul accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of bias and claimed voter list discrepancies had cost the party key constituencies like Bangalore Central. Rajanna however said the party must also accept responsibility.

“One should remember that voter lists were revised when our own government was at the helm. Why did our party turn a blind eye then? There are indeed irregularities, but it is insulting for us that it happened right under our nose,” Rajanna said. He alleged that the ECI “did what they should not have done, changed the voter list and went on to make the Prime Minister,” but admitted Congress failed to object in time. “We had a responsibility, but we remained silent then and are speaking now,” he added, urging party members to be more vigilant in future.

A heated exchange took place in the House on Monday over Rajanna’s resignation with the BJP demanding clarity from the government whether the Chief Minister has accepted it. Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka said if Rajanna is no longer a minister he should not be seated on the treasury benches and asked the government to state his current status.

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He also vouched for the candidature of a Dalit leader for the post of the chief minister if Siddaramaiah is replaced by any chance.

Later he said the high command had asked him not to create confusion regarding leadership change in the state by making comments.

“No one should talk about the creation of more deputy chief ministerial posts and the change of the chief minister," he had said.

“The matter of change of leadership will be taken care of by the high command. The decision of the high command is binding on all," he added.

“Even I feel that there should be no confusion in these matters. Wherever the changes are required, the high command will make decisions. The decision of the high command is final," he said.

Rajanna had also said electoral fraud happened in Mahdevpura -- the constituency Rahul Gandhi focused on during his August 7 press conference.

His comments puncture the allegations of Congress’s Rahul Gandhi -- that the Election Commission is taking orders from the BJP and helping introduce fake voters in the electoral rolls to engineer a victory for the party.

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