Rahul Gandhi brings up '40% commission' controversy in Karnataka: 'PM didn't..'

Rahul Gandhi has been leading the Congress's Kanyakumari to Kashmir ‘Bharat Jodo’ campaign.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hit out at the BJP government - ruling at the Centre and in Karnataka - as he leads the grand old party’s mass contact programme in the southern state. He also brought up the “40 per cent commission” controversy after the Congress was slammed by the ruling Basavaraj Bommai government over the PayCM campaign.

Chamarajanagar, Oct 01 (ANI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with Karnataka Congress President D K Shivakumar walks during his party's Bharat Jodo Yatra from Tondavadi Gate at Gundlupet, in Chamarajanagar on Saturday. (ANI Photo)(Congress Twitter)

“I want to ask you guys, one person comes, makes you people fight and then tells you that I am a patriot… I protect religion. And then, he takes away 40 per cent of your money. Will you call such a person a patriot, protector of religion or a thief?” Rahul Gandhi asked amid the Bharat Jodo campaign.

He also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Those who are ruling here are not patriots, they are not the 40 per cent commission thieves. In Karnataka, an association wrote to PM that theft of 40 per cent commission is being done. But PM Modi did not do anything about it.”

“40 per cent commission was taken from an association of 13,000 schools. Neither PM nor the CM did anything about this,” he said, alleging that southern state was witnessing a “scam” in recruitments in police, the Karnataka Public Service Commission, but “no action was taken as all the money was going to one body”. Repeating his claims that top businessmen were being benefitted at the cost of people, he said that the Bharat Jodo Yatra was launched to raise people's issues.

Rahul Gandhi's comments come as the Congress intensifies its PayCM campaign against the BJP government in the state despite pushbacks. "The Congress is under illusion that it can come to power through its dirty politics of misleading people. This will never be possible in Karnataka," the Chief Minister earlier said, hitting back at the party.

As a part of the campaign, whose name is similar to the popular Paytm app used for transactions, the party launched posters that used Bommai's pictures and a QR code. Upon scanning, the QR code redirects one to a portal https://40percentsarkara.com/#/home.

The Congress claims there were various scams, and contractors had to shell out 40 per cent commission (bribe) to secure public contracts.

(With inputs from PTI)