Satheesan says Keralam has no complaints of deliberate denial of voting rights

Keralam Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan said on October 9 that no complaints of deliberate denial of voting rights had been filed in the state. The Congress-led UDF had nevertheless raised concerns about transparency in voter-roll revision procedures, The Hindu reports.

At a briefing after the Cabinet meeting, Satheesan distinguished procedural concerns from complaints alleging intentional denial of voting rights. He said the UDF had brought issues of transparency and simplification during the Special Intensive Revision to the Election Commission of India and the state's chief electoral officer.

He attributed removals to absent, deceased or relocated voters. Satheesan also said the CPI(M) and BJP had not made allegations, contrasting Keralam with complaints in Maharashtra, West Bengal and Haryana. This is the chief minister's account rather than an independent finding covering every deletion.

Satheesan rejected reports that Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge had demanded dissolution of the Lok Sabha and state assemblies by declaring the elections illegal.

Separately, he discussed a preliminary anti-corruption inquiry concerning Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Satheesan said the government ordered it on the basis of a complaint naming Kumar, who previously served as the state's public works secretary.

The inquiry concerns old corruption allegations connected with the MC Road construction project and engineer Lee See Been's death in Kuala Lumpur in November 2006. Satheesan stressed that conclusions could be reached only after investigation. A preliminary inquiry does not itself establish guilt.