Karnataka   

‘We will penalise people who sell votes’

A warning: Members of Stree Shakti groups at Arehalli village of Holalkere taluk.

Chitradurga: “We will impose fine on anyone who is found to have accepted money for casting their vote.” This is one of the strong rules being framed by the women members of 14 Stree Shakti self-help groups of Arehalli village of Holalkere taluk.

Several women of this small village, located about 40 km from Chitradurga, have joined hands to ensure that no candidate lures them to get their vote in the coming Assembly elections.

They have decided to prevent all the vote-seekers from tempting the villagers with saris, liquor or money. The groups have also decided to give Rs. 2,000 as a reward to the person who informs them about anyone who has taken money.

“Since voting is our right and duty, we do not want our votes to be misused by any MLA aspirant who offers some worldly material,” said Nagaratnamma, member of Sri Kukkudeshwari Stree Shakti group.

The women are mainly concerned about political parties distributing liquor during campaign. Some 10 months ago, several women of groups had taken initiative to totally ban the sale of liquor in the village.

“We were disgusted with drinking habits of many men of the village. Even after banning of liquor by the Government, they somehow managed to get cheap toddy to drink. They were not only wasting their earnings but also used to beat their wives in inebriated condition,” said M.G. Saraswati of Bhavani Stree Shakti Group.

Boramma, another member, said they had convened a meeting with the representatives of various candidates to appraise them about their decision.

“We hope that the candidates and people here will oblige us. However, in the event of their failure to do so, we will also go to the extent of locking the polling station on the election day”, she said.

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