Offered Karnataka CM’s post for ₹2,500 cr, alleges BJP MLA Yatnal
Basanagouda Patil (Yatnal), the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Vijayapura City MLA, on Friday said that he was given the offer of being made Karnataka chief minister if “I can cough up ₹2,500 crores”
Basanagouda Patil (Yatnal), the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Vijayapura City MLA, on Friday said that he was given the offer of being made Karnataka chief minister if “I can cough up ₹2,500 crores”.
He also alleged that those people who were willing to give ₹50-100 crores were being made a minister as well.
“There are many thieves in politics who claim they can give you a ticket, take you to Delhi, meet with Sonia Gandhi, (JP) Nadda. Some people from Delhi approached me and said we would make you chief minister if you give ₹2,500 crore,” Yatnal said in Belagavi.
“There are fraudsters everywhere,” he added.
Yatnal has been a vocal critic of the state leadership, especially former chief minister BS Yediyurappa and his family.
The former Union minister further said that he had “taken a pledge to bring down Yediyurappa”.
“I don’t know this kind of theatrics, but if I did, then when Yediyurappa was removed, not this time but the last, they (a reference to BJP high command) would have made me chief minister,” Yatnal said.
He added that Yediyurappa thought that “if I make Yatnal a minister, what would happen to my son (BY Vijayendra)”.
“That’s why he trampled me and did none of the work I asked for, kept all the letters (requests) I gave to them aside. I went there and told him this is the last time, and I will never come to your chamber or Cauvery (official residence of the chief minister) till you are a chief minister. Only after bringing you down will I come here. Next, Bommai became chief minister, called me and asked me to come. I said I will since my pledge was fulfilled. Bommai spoke to me for half an hour and told me that I (Bommai) became CM only because of you,” Yatnal said, to thundering applause from the audience.
“ ₹2,500 crores! Is it any wonder that ₹20,000 crores have been spent on Bangalore roads in 5 years,” Whitefield Rising, a collective of residents from Bengaluru’s eastern parts, said in a post on Twitter.
Yatnal’s statements lend to corruption charges against the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government that is facing allegations of demanding bribes from contractors, job aspirants and others.
KS Eswarappa was forced to resign as rural development and panchayat raj (RDPR) minister last month after Santosh K Patil, a Belagavi-based contractor died by suicide, alleging that the minister was harassing him to pay 40% commission to clear bills worth ₹4 crores.
Ramesh Jarkiholi was also forced to step down last year after he was accused of a ‘job-for-sex’ scandal.
Now, Dr CN Ashwath Narayan, the minister of higher education, is accused of corruption in the ongoing Police Sub Inspector (PSI) recruitment scandal that continues to rock the Bommai government.
“Yatnal has said that if he wants to become chief minister, he would have to pay ₹2500 crore. To become a minister, you have to pay ₹100 crore. For sub-inspector, and circle inspector, all rates have been fixed. Appointments, cooperation employees, milk (federation), teachers. We won’t talk about it but will take it up seriously with the ACB (anti-corruption bureau) and want this to become a national issue,” DK Shivakumar, the president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), said.