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The Kerala Police on Friday registered a criminal case against Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader G Sudhakaran after he claimed that postal ballots were tampered with in the 1989 Lok Sabha elections, The Indian Express reported.
At an event of the Kerala NGO Union, which is affiliated to the party, in Alappuzha on Wednesday, Sudhakaran claimed that postal votes were manipulated to benefit the Community Party of India (Marxist) candidate in the Alappuzha constituency during the polls.
He added that “even if the Election Commission is to initiate a case over the matter, it will not be a problem”, The Hindu reported.
State Chief Electoral Officer Rathan U Kelkar on Thursday said that the Election Commission was treating Sudhakaran’s statement “with utmost seriousness”, The Indian Express reported. Kelkar had directed the Alappuzha district election officer to file a first information report and begin a “detailed investigation”.
The same day, Ambalappuzha Tahsildar S Anvar recorded Sudhakaran’s statement.
The police registered an FIR against Sudhakaran based on the video of his speech, citing violations related to maintaining the secrecy of voting, unlawful removal of ballot papers, booth capturing and other offences under the 1951 Representation of the People Act, OnManorama reported.
Charges were also filed under the Indian Penal Code for using forged documents as genuine, the news outlet added. The penalties for some of the offences carry prison terms ranging from months to several years.
The complaint was filed by Alappuzha District Collector Alex Varghese, who is also the district election officer, The Hindu reported.
The action came even as Sudhakaran retracted his statement on Thursday, claiming that no incident of postal ballot manipulation took place in 1989.
“The other day, I spoke with a bit of imagination,” Sudhakaran was quoted as saying by The Hindu. “I have never engaged in or facilitated bogus voting.”
Sudhakaran said he had mentioned this to the election officials when his statement was recorded.
The leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) also denied the allegations, The Hindu reported.
In the 1989 election, Vakkom Purushothaman of the Congress had defeated KV Devadas of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) by a margin of more than 25,000 votes in Alappuzha.
Sudhakaran, a four-time MLA, served as a minister in the VS Achuthanandan-led Left Democratic Front government between 2006 and 2011. He was also the public works minister in Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s previous Cabinet.
This article first appeared on Scroll.in
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