After resigning from the cabinet on August 11, former cooperative minister KN Rajanna has now targeted the Congress high command, hinting that he will soon expose what he claims is a larger conspiracy.
He had previously alleged that the vote theft occurred while Congress was in power and claimed that the Karnataka government failed to act. The BJP has criticised the Congress leadership after Rajanna’s dismissal, accusing the party of targeting voices from marginalised communities and labelling them as anti-Dalit and anti-democratic.
Supporters of Rajanna have protested his dismissal; the protests include a Madhugiri Bandh and an attempted self-immolation.
Rajanna further stated that he will reveal the conspiracy behind his removal when the time is right. He said, “Even if you want to use terms like ‘resignation’, ‘dropped’, or ‘sacked’, there is a conspiracy behind this. Who conspired, who is behind it, which leaders were involved, and how it all happened, I will reveal everything when the time is right,” as reported by India Today.
Media reports state that Rajanna has admitted that voter list revisions were poorly monitored during the Congress rule. He cited examples of double entries and suspicious names in sparsely populated areas. His acknowledgement of the party’s failure to raise alarm about these practices at the time, and the further need for vigilance about voter lists, has stirred a commotion within the party.
Rajanna’s allegations come at a time when senior Congress leaders have been accusing the ECI of colluding with the BJP to secure wins. At such a juncture, the allegations raised by Rajanna could hamper the credibility of Congress’s accusations.
Before this, Rajanna had been criticised for opposing Randeep Surjewala when he held a one-to-one meeting with an MLA. Rajanna had objected to the meeting at the time and had overtly signalled his disapproval by taking a foreign trip during that period. His opposition to Surjewala further intensified when he was at the forefront of resisting the move to meet government officials, which was led by Surjewala, calling it unconstitutional.
