Congmen file complaints against BSY for poll code violation

Congmen have lodged two separate complaints with State Election Commission against former chief minister and BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa for trying to influence the voters in Gundlupet Assembly constituency by giving them money.

In his complaint to Chief Electoral Officer Anil Kumar Jha, Chairman of Mysore Paints and Varnishes Limited (MPVL) H A Venkatesh has alleged that Yeddyurappa has violated model code of conduct by giving a compensation to the family of a farmer, who had recently committed suicide in Gundlupet taluk.

The complainant sought action against Yeddyurappa. He has also sought Yeddyurappa’s disqualification as Lok Sabha member as it is a clear case of violation of Model Code of Conduct (MCC).

Chikkashetty, a farmer of Annurukeri village, in Gundlupet taluk, Chamarajanagar district, had committed suicide last month. His family members, relatives and villagers had staged a protest demanding a compensation. There was no announcement from the government as the MCC was in force due to byelection.

On the last day of public campaigning for the bypolls on Friday, Yeddyurappa visited the house of the deceased farmer at Annurukeri and paid a compensation of Rs 1 lakh from his own purse.

Venkatesh has charged that Yeddyurappa offered the compensation with an intention to woo votes of farmers and is thus a violation of MCC. The Election Commission should initiate action against Yeddyurappa, Venkatesh said.

Another plaint

A group of Congressmen led by N S Boseraju on Saturday submitted the comp-laint to the EC through the office of the chief electoral officer. The Congress has said that Yeddyurappa had ‘paid’ Rs 1,00,000 to women at Vaddana Hosahalli in Hangala hobli under Gundlupet constituency.

This amounts to bribing voters. The incident has been telecast by channels, they claimed. There is also a complaint against former minister Renukacharya. The Congress said that Renuka- charya, with his party workers, was carrying Rs 5 lakh for distribution to voters in Gundlupet. The petitioners wanted the EC to take action against both the BJP leaders.