Karnataka   

Karnataka Congress denies charge of liquor distribution

GULBARGA: Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president M. Mallikarjun Kharge and former Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh on Monday rejected the Bharatiya Janata Party charge saying “the BJP to hide its own malfeasance and distribution of money and liquor in Chitapur and Jewargi Assembly constituencies was levelling false charges against the Congress and its leaders.”

Reacting sharply to the complaint filed by the BJP before the Chief Electoral Officer, Mr. Kharge and Mr. Singh told The Hindu that they were not perturbed by these charges. The Election Commission should reject the complaint and initiate action against the BJP for filing false complaints with a view to diverting the attention of the people and sullying the image of a political party.

Mr. Kharge said in his long political career he had not indulged in such acts as distributing money and liquor for votes.

“I do not believe that money would enable a candidate to win the elections, and it is only the commitment to the welfare of the people and development works that will help him to gain the love and affection of voters,” Mr. Kharge said. Terming the complaint as a “desperate act,” Mr. Kharge and Mr. Singh said the BJP which knew well that it would not win in Jewargi, Chitapur and other constituencies in the district was now trying to sully the image of senior leaders.

“The truth is that it was the BJP which was spending money like water and distributing liquor in the Assembly constituencies in the district and the election authorities should take action against the BJP,” they demanded.

Instead of making wild allegations, the Congress leaders said, the BJP should come out with specific cases where liquor and money were seized while it was allegedly being distributed in these two constituencies.

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