<p>The Election Commission of India has sought a report from the Returning Officer for Rajya Sabha elections on a complaint that the Congress moved some Independent MLAs to Mumbai ahead of the polls. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The direction from the commission to Returning Officer S Murthy came on Wednesday morning with an instruction that the matter be treated as “most urgent”. <br /><br />JD(S) MLA M T Krishnappa filed a complaint with the commission, accusing the Congress government of moving 10 Independent legislators to Mumbai so that they could vote for the Congress on the polling day. <br /><br />The Rajya Sabha polls are scheduled for Saturday. The complaint stated that these MLAs had signed on the nomination papers for JD(S) candidate B M Farook but had now suddenly changed their loyalty to the Congress. <br /><br />Murthy told reporters in Bengaluru on Wednesday that because of time constraints, he was compiling newspaper reports on the whereabouts of the legislators and would be sending them to the commission shortly. <br /><br />“There is no time to send letters to the legislators seeking their reaction,” the officer said. <br />This is the third report the commission has sought from the Returning Officer in the run-up to the polls. The first report pertained to the sting operations by two television channels, that purportedly showed four MLAs discussing the sale of votes for the RS polls. <br /><br />The second report was about a complaint that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had been “wooing” Independent MLAs by offering Rs 100-crore special development grants to each of their constituencies. <br /><br />The first report was sent to the commission on Monday. Murthy said he sent the second report with the reply from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) on Tuesday evening. The CMO had replied that Siddaramaiah had not promised any special grants to Independent MLAs. <br /><br /></p>
<p>The Election Commission of India has sought a report from the Returning Officer for Rajya Sabha elections on a complaint that the Congress moved some Independent MLAs to Mumbai ahead of the polls. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The direction from the commission to Returning Officer S Murthy came on Wednesday morning with an instruction that the matter be treated as “most urgent”. <br /><br />JD(S) MLA M T Krishnappa filed a complaint with the commission, accusing the Congress government of moving 10 Independent legislators to Mumbai so that they could vote for the Congress on the polling day. <br /><br />The Rajya Sabha polls are scheduled for Saturday. The complaint stated that these MLAs had signed on the nomination papers for JD(S) candidate B M Farook but had now suddenly changed their loyalty to the Congress. <br /><br />Murthy told reporters in Bengaluru on Wednesday that because of time constraints, he was compiling newspaper reports on the whereabouts of the legislators and would be sending them to the commission shortly. <br /><br />“There is no time to send letters to the legislators seeking their reaction,” the officer said. <br />This is the third report the commission has sought from the Returning Officer in the run-up to the polls. The first report pertained to the sting operations by two television channels, that purportedly showed four MLAs discussing the sale of votes for the RS polls. <br /><br />The second report was about a complaint that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had been “wooing” Independent MLAs by offering Rs 100-crore special development grants to each of their constituencies. <br /><br />The first report was sent to the commission on Monday. Murthy said he sent the second report with the reply from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) on Tuesday evening. The CMO had replied that Siddaramaiah had not promised any special grants to Independent MLAs. <br /><br /></p>
