Bengaluru, Nov 17 (TIWN) The Congress unit in Karnataka on Thursday alleged voter ID scam by the state's ruling BJP and demanded Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai's resignation, as well as a probe into the scam by the Chief Justice of the High Court of Karnataka.

In a joint press conference at the KPCC headquarters in Bengaluru, the state's party in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala, opposition leader Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Congress President D.K. Shivakumar said that they would lodge a criminal complaint regarding the matter. 

"The government is stealing the data of voters. The ruling BJP is indulging in election fraud through a private agency. Bommai, in-charge minister, BBMP Special Commissioner Tushar Girinath and the Election Commission are operating as one team to steal voters' data," Surjewala stated. 

Shivakumar charged that thousands of BJP workers in the state have been roped in to manipulate electoral rolls. 

"The BJP workers have been hired on contract basis by a private agency, given identity cards by the authorities to carry out the process of voter ID renewal," he charged. 

In Bengaluru alone 17,000 to 18,000 identity cards are given  In Bengaluru alone, about 17,000 to 18,000 such identity cards are given, he said, adding that the BJP workers are going door to door and mapping the voters. 

"They are marking empty houses, studying voters' political affiliations and coming up with a voters' list to win elections."