Freebies: EC asks K'taka poll officer to take immediate action on complaint by Deve Gowda against DK Suresh

The Election Commission has asked for prompt action on the complaint of former prime minister and Janata Dal (Secular) president H D Deve Gowda, who accused Congress’ Lok Sabha member D K Suresh of planning to distribute freebies among voters in the Bengaluru (Rural) Lok Sabha constituency.

The EC has directed the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Karnataka to take “immediate appropriate action” on the complaint lodged by Deve Gowda. The commission asked the CEO to take action on the complaint as provided by the Model Code of Conduct and the relevant laws. It also asked for a compliance report detailing the actions initiated by the CEO.

Suresh, the brother of Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, is the Congress’s candidate in the Bengaluru (Rural) Lok Sabha constituency. Deve Gowda’s son-in-law C N Manjunath is contesting as a candidate of the BJP, an ally of the JD (S), in the constituency.

Deve Gowda had alleged that the office of the CEO of Karnataka had failed to take swift action to prevent the corrupt activities in the Bengaluru (Rural) Lok Sabha constituency. He alleged that the freebies had been removed from a storage facility as the state election machinery had failed to take appropriate action.

The EC acted on the allegation of the JD (S) leader and wrote to the CEO in Bengaluru on March 21, asking for prompt action on his complaint.