Former Minister and senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leader G. Sudhakaran has criticised the police for registering a case against him, following his statement that postal ballots were tampered with in favour of the CPI(M) candidate in the Alappuzha constituency in the 1989 Lok Sabha elections.
Speaking to mediapersons on Sunday, Mr. Sudhakaran said that his statement on rigging postal votes was a “speech tactic”. “I said negative things to create a positive effect. No postal ballot-tampering took place. Where is the evidence for tampering with postal votes? The District Police Chief and the District Collector should be asked why a case under non-bailable Sections was filed against me in such haste. By registering the case, the police have landed themselves in trouble,” Mr. Sudhakaran said.
He said that retired High Court judge Kemal Pasha had opined that filing the case against him was wrong. “I have already retracted my initial statement and clarified it. Even the CPI(M) candidate in the 1989 polls said that no such incident took place. What more evidence are the police going to collect now?,” Mr. Sudhakaran said.
‘Let the police explain’
The CPI(M) leader said that he was not going to seek anticipatory bail. “I have not done anything wrong. I am waiting to see if the police come to arrest me. Let the police explain in court what wrong I have committed. I will also make my stance clear in court,” he said, adding that the Opposition would not gain any political advantage from the situation.
In an apparent reference to Fisheries Minister Saji Cherian’s remarks on the Constitution in 2022, Mr. Sudhakaran asked what legal action had been taken against the person who challenged the entire legal system of the country.
Mr. Sudhakaran made the controversial remarks on May 14. Two days later, he retracted his statement, stating that no such incident of postal ballot tampering had occurred. However, the Alappuzha South police registered a case against him as per the direction of the Election Commission.
He has been booked under Sections 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 135 (removal of ballot papers from polling station to be an offence), 135 A (offence of booth capturing), 136 (electoral offence) and 128 (maintenance of secrecy of voting) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
Published – May 18, 2025 06:03 pm IST
