Cong releases ‘PSI scam-related’ audio of BJP MLA, Bommai says will examine

The audio of Kanakagiri MLA Basavaraj Dadesugur was shared on social media, in which an unidentified person is heard talking about some cash transactions to placate the son of a former police official.

The state unit of Congress on Monday released a video allegedly involving a BJP MLA’s purported conversation with a man in connection with the police sub-inspector (PSI) recruitment scam.

Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai speaks on the first day of the monsoon session of the state legislative assembly, at Vidhana Soudha, in Bengaluru on Monday. (Agencies)

The audio of Kanakagiri MLA Basavaraj Dadesugur was shared widely on social media platforms, in which an unidentified person is heard talking about some cash transactions to placate the son of a former police official.

HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the audio.

Soon after the incident, the Congress termed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as the ‘Brokers Party of India’.

“The MLA (Dadesugur) himself has told that the audio has gone viral. It is his voice in the audio. We are not trying to do anything, he is confessing to a crime (of getting money to give a government post). So, it’s very clear that he is acting or he is brokering a government job on the behalf of the ministers. The BJP has officially become the Brokers Janata Party,” Priyank Kharge, former minister, Congress MLA and chairman of the party’s communications wing, said on Monday in Bengaluru.

Meanwhile, chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday said the audio involving the BJP MLA will be examined and if something wrong was found, he would get it investigated, as reported by PTI. “I don’t know about the audio or video. We will examine it. If at all something like that (scam) is found then we certainly will order to investigate,” Bommai told reporters here.

The statements come on the day the monsoon session of the Karnataka legislature commenced. But as per custom, the first day is largely limited to condolence messages. The Congress has been trying to corner the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government that has faced multiple allegations of corruption since it engineered the collapse of the HD Kumaraswamy-led coalition in 2019.

This includes the taking of bribes of 40% commission charges made by the contractors association, paying of bribes to allegedly secure approvals to build stormwater drains and canals that caused the recent flooding in Bengaluru and other allegations that have rocked the government, months ahead of the assembly elections in the state.

Earlier in the day, the Congress had also released another video of a man identified as Basappa Megur who claimed to have paid ₹15 lakh to the Kanakagiri MLA’s associate to placate his son as a PSI.

“It is not my claim but of the MLA himself that it is his voice and that he has taken ₹15 lakh and given it to somebody in the government to ensure that one of them becomes a PSI,” Kharge alleged.

The PSI scandal had rocked the Bommai government with names of several ministers coming out in relation to the scam.

Senior IPS officer and ADGP recruitment at the time of the scam, Amrit Paul, has since been arrested, including 30 others for their alleged involvement in the ‘cash for job’ scam.

On September 6, the court had granted police custody of Paul for eight days. He is accused number seven in the case that is being investigated by the Criminal Investigation Department.

“We have been saying that the entire cash for jobs scam should be given to a special investigation team, headed by a sitting judge. There is an IPS officer who has been arrested and also wants to depose before a judge. Why is the government so hesitant? Are they scared that their skeletons will tumble out of the closet?,” Kharge said.

Reacting to the incident, BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel, said that the party will bring out all the corruption scandals under the Congress the same way as it did at the central level.

“The BJP at the Centre has brought to light all the scams done by the Congress. Here also we will bring it out for sure. Siddaramaiah, in the last three years, after our government came to power, has opposed us on all issues. Without evidence he has been screaming about 40% commission,” Kateel said.

He said that there were many scams under Siddaramaiah which includes Arkavathy layout, energy department, borewells and others which the Congress buried but will be brought to the fore by the BJP.