Sriki possibly rigged Youth Cong polls: Karnataka Home Minister

Did hacker Srikrishna Ramesh alias Sriki, the prime accused in the Bitcoin case, rig the controversial Youth Congress election held earlier this year? That is what Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra alluded to in an interview to a news channel.

Voting for the Karnataka Pradesh Youth Congress Committee's presidency was held from January 10-12, 2021, when Sriki was in police custody. The result of the election was announced on February 4, when the hacker was in judicial custody.

The result was controversial because Mohammed Haris Nalapad, the winner, got disqualified and Raksha Ramaiah, the runner-up, was declared president-elect.

Read: BJP tweets pic, links Siddaramaiah’s late son with Bitcoin case

Jnanendra said Sriki had possibly rigged the election.

"Some Congress leaders have called me, asking me to investigate the hacking of the polls that were held online. They suspect that there was some wrongdoing in the polling. They allege that Sriki was used to rig the (Youth Congress) election so that all votes are transferred to one candidate. This is shocking," Jnanendra said in the interview.

When asked at whose behest the election was rigged, Jnanendra responded with a rhetorical question: "Who was with him during the Farzi Cafe incident? Which Congress MLA's son was involved with him in Goa?" This was a reference to Nalapad, the son of Congress's Shantinagar MLA NA Haris.

Jnanendra also offered to investigate the rigging claim if Karnataka Pradesh Congress Commitee (KPCC) would formally seek a probe.

But, KPCC president D K Shivakumar lashed out at Jnanendra, calling him a "mad man" in need of help.

"I am very happy the home minister has made such an allegation. There is also an allegation against the CM, ministers and the [BJP] president (on the Bitcoin case) in an official letter. First, let the home minister, who is a mad man, register a case suo motu," he said.

The Youth Congress elections triggered a controversy. While Raksha is seen as a member of Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah's camp, Nalapad apparently had Shivakumar's support. It was said that Nalapad, in spite of winning, got disqualified owing to the infamous 2018 Farzi Cafe brawl case in which Sriki was among the accused.

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