Kasaragod: All government agencies have taken seriously the allegation of using forged Voter ID cards for the organisational election in the Youth Congress, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
"This is a serious issue. This should not have been done... An internal election should have been a healthy competition. But for that, they took up such a depraved method," he said, responding to a question during a press conference in Kasaragod on Sunday.
If the Congress can do such a thing for an internal election, imagine what it can do to their political rivals, he said.
The Youth Congress leaders are facing allegations of forging 1.25 lakh Election Commission Voter ID cards to cast bogus votes for its internal election.
In the recently concluded election, Rahul Mamkoottathil was elected the state President of the Youth Congress. He defeated Abin Varkey Kodiyattu. Both were General Secretaries of the organisation.
Officer-bearers from Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta, and Ernakulam districts have complained to the national leadership of the Youth Congress about the alleged bogus voting.
Since then, the DYFI, the youth front of the ruling CPM, and the Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of the BJP, have filed complaints against the Youth Congress and Congress leaders, accusing them of forging fake Voter ID cards.
Acting on the Yuva Morcha's complaint, the State Election Commission has sought a report from the State Police Chief. It also sought an explanation from the Youth Congress.
Based on the DYFI's complaint, the Museum Police of Thiruvananthapuram have registered a case under Sections 465 and 467 (forgery), 420 (cheating) of the IPC, and relevant sections of the Information Technology Act.
The State Police Chief has formed an eight-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said there was no internal democracy in the Congress because normally office-bearers were nominated. "But the Youth Congress decided to hold an election and that turned out to be like this," he said.
The Congress ran campaigns defaming Kerala over election frauds, he said, referring to allegations of dishonest election practices raised against the CPM. "Has there been a booth capturing incident reported in Kerala?" he said.
Pinarayi Vijayan said the Congress had advisers who spread fake messages. "The role of the advisers should also be examined," he said.
