The Congress party on Wednesday urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to conduct an impartial probe into the ‘stealing scam’ of voters’ details in Karnataka and take action by registering an FIR against Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and the officials concerned.

A delegation of the party met top officials of the Election Commission and submitted a memorandum regarding their demand. Congress General Secretary and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala, Pradesh Congress Committee President DK Sivakumar, senior state Congress leader MB Patil, MP Nasir Hussain and some other leaders were present in this delegation.

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The Congress has alleged that private individuals working for the ‘Chillum Educational Cultural and Rural Development’ were given fake identity cards, posing as booth-level officers of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), to vote for voters. They were tasked with collecting personal information and through them, the details of voters were stolen.

Surjewala told reporters: “There is a huge conspiracy and scam to steal votes in Karnataka under the leadership of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. This is the biggest vote-stealing scam in the country.”

He alleged: “The details of each and every voter were stolen and put in a private app through a private organization under the leadership and aegis of the Chief Minister. Voters’ details were stolen by posing as officials of private trusts as government officials… 27 lakh voters were added overnight and the names of 11 lakh voters were deleted.”

Surjewala said: “The Commission has assured all of us that it will verify the voter list in Karnataka and take strict action against those responsible. The Commission has registered an FIR. We are sure that an FIR will be lodged against the Chief Minister and other officials regarding the vote-stealing scam and action will be taken.”

Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Meena recently said that an inquiry has been ordered into the matter amid allegations made by the Congress over the theft of voter data.