Karnataka Cooperation Minister KN Rajanna resigned on Monday after the Congress high command asked him to step down, following his blunt criticism of the party’s handling of alleged electoral roll irregularities. Rajanna said such lapses occurred “right before our eyes” and the party “should feel ashamed” for failing to address them.
While supporting the Congress’s claim of irregularities, he questioned its inaction, noting that the voter list was compiled when the party was in power. “At that time, was everyone sitting quietly with eyes closed? Fraud took place in Mahadevapura — one person was registered in three locations and voted in all,” he said, stressing that objections should have been raised during the draft roll stage.
His remarks angered party leaders, who are currently marching to the Election Commission of India (ECI) over alleged “vote chori.” Deputy CM DK Shivakumar said Rajanna was “totally at fault” and that leadership would respond.
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi refused to sign a sworn declaration demanded by the ECI to back his “vote theft” charges, insisting the data was from the commission’s own records. Recently released from Delhi Police detention during the INDIA bloc’s protest march, he reiterated this was a fight for “One Man, One Vote,” alleging the ECI was trying to hide the truth and that such irregularities occurred in multiple constituencies. “One day, everything will come out,” he asserted.