Karnataka Congress petitions Election Commission against Amit Shah, Yeddyurappa

The Congress filed complaints against BJP president Amit Shah, former Karnataka CM Yeddyurappa, Union minister Ananth Kumar Hegde and MP Pratap Simha for violating the model code of conduct in Karnataka ahead of the Assembly polls for offering Rs 5 lakh to the family of a deceased RSS worker, H Raju, who was killed in 2016.

In a memorandum submitted to the Election Commission on Monday by MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi, and Congress leaders Jaiveer Shergill and Vipul Maheshwari, apart from advocate Varun Chopra, the Congress alleged that the act "may fall under the classification/definition of giving gratification to a voter for the purposes of exercising his/her electoral right and hence, in gross violation of the Model Code of Conduct Para I (4) read with Section 171B of the Indian Penal Code".

The memorandum further stated that while Shah and other leaders had visited the areas several times earlier, they had never made any effort to contact the family. The Congress demanded that EC initiates action against Shah and other to ensure that "free and fair" elections are held.

The Karnataka Congress, too, had earlier complained to the EC on the matter. On Friday, Karnataka Congress working president Dinesh Gundu Rao demanded that Shah should not be allowed to enter the state. "Amit Shah should not come to Karnataka as his intentions are very clear- to vitiate the election atmosphere and to violate the law. Today's incident is the best example for it," he had told reporters.