Thiruvananthapuram | The Chief Electoral Officer of Kerala on Friday directed the state police to investigate complaints of alleged use of fake voter ID cards during the Youth Congress organisational polls.
Chief Electoral Officer Sanjay M Kaul forwarded the complaints his office received to the state police chief, urging appropriate action against the culprits allegedly involved in the fraud.
"We received a complaint this afternoon. We saw news reports that a particular political party was using the Election Commission's voter ID cards for their internal election. It was also claimed that those were fake election ID cards.
"We have given a letter to the state police chief seeking a probe and appropriate action against the culprits," Kaul told the media here.
Meanwhile, the Youth Congress has denied the allegations.
The allegations cropped up two days after the Youth Congress announced the result of its internal organisational poll. Youth Congress leader Rahul Mankoottathil was elected president of the state organisation in the polls held a few weeks ago.
The CPI(M) and the BJP in Kerala criticised the Congress over the issue.
BJP state president K Surendran accused a faction of the Congress in Kerala of creating fake voter ID cards and the serious implications, suggesting potential misuse in general elections and for acquiring SIM cards.
"A faction of the @INCKerala created bogus Voter ID cards for the Youth Congress election in Kerala. It's a serious offense. These artificially created fake voter IDs can be used in general elections. It can also be used to buy SIM cards. A Congress MLA is directly involved in the development of this application," Surendran posted on X.
He blamed a Congress MLA in the development of the alleged application, claiming awareness of top Congress leaders, including K C Venugopal and V D Satheesan.
Surendran shared a screenshot of the mobile application purportedly used for creating the bogus ID cards.
CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan said it was a serious matter and called for an urgent and comprehensive investigation by agencies, including the Election Commission of India.
Meanwhile, Youth Congress leader and Palakkad MLA Shafi Parambil dismissed the allegations as a "gimmick" by the BJP state president to maintain political relevance in Kerala.
He maintained that elections were conducted in a transparent manner and denied any malpractice.
The CPI(M) approached the Election Commission, expressing concern that the use of fake voter ID cards could pose a significant threat to democracy.
CPI(M)'s Rajya Sabha MP A A Rahim, in a letter to the Election Commission, alleged that a group had forged voter ID cards using mobile applications and other resources as proof for the Youth Congress Kerala presidential election.
Rahim urged the Election Commission to address the issue promptly to protect the credibility of the electoral system.
