BJP serves notices to Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah over corruption charges

Bengaluru: The Karnataka unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday issued legal notices to state Congress president DK Shivakumar and leader of opposition in

Bengaluru: The Karnataka unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday issued legal notices to state Congress president DK Shivakumar and leader of opposition in the Karnataka assembly, Siddaramiah, over their “baseless” allegations of corruption in the procurement of Covid-19 equipment.

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The BJP has demanded that the two Congress leaders withdraw their allegations and apologise. “The allegations made by you without any basis or material have also reflected badly upon all the members of the party who have strived hard in building the party and the government,” the notices, issued on behalf of state BJP general secretary N Ravi Kumar by his lawyers, said.

Last week, Shivakumar and Siddaramiah alleged that the costs of Covid-19 medical equipment and supplies purchased were inflated, and over Rs 2000 crore were siphoned off. They demanded a judicial probe into the alleged graft.

Reacting to the notice, Shivakumar said that his party was ready to furnish all documents to prove the corruption if the government was ready to order a judicial inquiry by a sitting high court judge.

“If the allegations are baseless they can file a case against me and hang me.” Shivakumar said.