Key Points

Siddaramaiah made the remark addressing a protest rally at Freedom Park against "electoral malpractice and vote theft" during the Lok Sabha elections.

The Chief Minister alleged that the Election Commission has become a branch office of the BJP.

"The protest movement against vote theft, which has now begun in Karnataka, will soon spread across the entire country. Rahul Gandhi has undertaken a detailed study, collected and analysed polling data, and has now presented the facts with documentation before the people of the nation," Siddaramaiah said.

He stated that the Election Commission must act "fairly" and within the framework of the Constitution.

"Manuvadis are enemies of the Constitution, and they are trying to derail the constitutional process. The truth has now come to light that Congress lost the Central Lok Sabha seat not due to lack of public support, but because of electoral fraud committed in the Mahadevapura Assembly segment," Siddaramaiah said.

"Congress should have won 14 seats in Karnataka in the Lok Sabha elections, but we lost due to vote theft. Since the introduction of EVMs, they have been misused, and this has now been proven with documentation," he alleged.

Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar expressed full support to Rahul Gandhi in his fight to "protect" the Constitution and voters' rights.

Speaking at the protest 'Our vote Our right', Shivakumar said, "This is a historic fight. Rahul Gandhi has sent a strong message about protecting the Constitution and voters' rights. Karnataka is writing the foreword for the election fraud exposé in the country."

"Rahul Gandhi, during the recent event on the Constitution, had called for setting up legal banks in every booth to protect voters' rights. We are committed to doing that," he said.

- IANS