The Election Commission of India Thursday ordered a police investigation against senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader G Sudhakaran following his admission to tampering with postal votes in the 1989 Lok Sabha election.
At a function of the party-affiliated Kerala NGO Union Wednesday, Sudhakaran, a former minister, had claimed he had opened postal ballots and made manipulations in favour of CPI(M) candidate Alappuzha constituency in 1989.
In a statement, State Chief Electoral Officer Dr Rathan U Kelkar said the Election Commission was viewing Sudhakaran’s revelation “with utmost seriousness”. The act of tampering with postal votes constitutes grave violation of the election rules, the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the Indian Penal Code and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The chief electoral officer has directed the Alappuzha district election officer to “file an FIR, initiate a case and take immediate steps for a detailed investigation”.
Subsequently, a tahsildar in Alappuzha recorded Sudhakaran’s statement. “Let them take action. I’m not afraid of the action. I have not committed any murder,” he told the media later.
However, by Thursday evening, Sudhakaran did a volte face after the Alappuzha district collector wanted local police to probe into the matter. “The district collector, who is also the election officer, has forwarded a complaint to us. We have sought legal opinion and will take action accordingly,” police said.
Sudhakaran said: “My speech was mixed with imagination. I have never exercised a fake vote or made others do fake votes. I have never opened postal ballots. I wanted to make people alert”.
image.pngA four-time MLA, G Sudhakaran was a minister in the VS Achuthanandan-led Left Democratic Front government in 2006 to 2011. He has previously served as the minister for public works department G Sudhakaran in Kerala Chief Minister ’s previous cabinet.
In the 1989 polls, Congress’s Vakkom Purushothaman beat K.V. Devadas by over 25,000 votes.
