The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or the National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe the fake voter ID and Aadhaar card case since it pertains to national security.

BJP MLA and former minister S Suresh Kumar while referring to the recent arrest of three persons — MSL Techno Solution owner Mounesh Kumar, and his accomplices Bhagath and Raghavendra by the Central Crime Branch of Bengaluru in connection with the creation of fake identity cards, said that the crime mentioned in the FIR against the three pertained to national security.

“The crime mentioned in the FIR is against national security. Preparing a duplicate Aadhaar card is a great crime from the national security point of view. All these accused are Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh’s (Suresha B S) close associates,” Kumar alleged.

“Since it is a serious crime, the BJP demands that the CCB not investigate this case. It should be investigated by the CBI or the NIA,” he added.

Along with that, an order must be issued to cancel the Aadhaar cards created by MSL Techno Solutions because it is difficult to comprehend where these can be used in future, Kumar said.

He demanded that all the accused, however powerful they may be, should not be allowed to escape because this is not a political matter but one which is related to the security of society.

The BJP MLA noted that one should have a birth certificate to create an Aadhaar card.”If these documents are created by bypassing the birth certificate, then one can understand the clout the accused enjoy, ” he said.

Kumar claimed that these documents were created with the sole objective of winning the 2023 assembly election.

“We are lodging a complaint with the Election Commission of India to expose the whole network to find out where all this has spread, to whom all these people give these identity cards, (and) the complications created by this. We will demand the ECI to get this case investigated by the NIA or CBI as these two probe agencies are competent enough to probe it properly,” he said.

Stating that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah should also show seriousness since it involves the security of society, Kumar appealed to him to get Suresh investigated to find out how he had benefited from it.

He also claimed that the BJP’s defeated candidate from Hebbal, Jagadeesha Katta K S, who lost to minister Suresh, had been saying from the beginning that fake and forged identity cards were prepared and fake voters were created to win the elections.

He dismissed the minister’s claim that he did not know Mounesh and showed a photograph of Mounesh Kumar riding a scooter and Byrathi Suresh sitting on it as a pillion rider.

“No MLA will ever sit on anyone’s scooter. There should be some trust in the person with whom the MLA is riding a pillion. He must be known to him and also knows the route. It is well known that the three are close friends of the minister,” the BJP MLA claimed.

Wirth inputs from PTI.