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K’taka Cong seeks probe into corruption allegations against BJP govt
On Sunday, chief minister Basavaraj Bommai had denied the allegations and said:“This is the result of Congress toolkit, they are trying to create a lie. I have not given any instructions to anyone (to give cash gifts).”
Days after the ‘cash for gift’ allegations against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government came to the fore, Leader of Opposition in Karnataka assembly Siddaramaiah on Monday demanded a “judicial probe” into the corruption allegations.
“A judicial commission should be constituted to bring out the truth,” the Congress leader said while speaking to the reporters in Mysuru.
On Sunday, chief minister Basavaraj Bommai had denied the allegations and said:“This is the result of Congress toolkit, they are trying to create a lie. I have not given any instructions to anyone (to give cash gifts).”
Calling out the CM for his explanation, the Congress leader said: “How can anybody in the chief minister’s office give away cash to journalists without bringing it to the notice of the chief minister?”
The demand comes amid a series of allegations against the state government which has been facing protests from the Opposition over the allegations of bribes allegedly being paid to journalists, the suicide of an inspector allegedly over corruption charges and a demand for euthanasia by a contractor over alleged demands for commission.
Former chief minister Siddaramaiah sought to know “the source of cash given to select journalists under the pretext of distributing Diwali sweets”. Siddaramaiah said, “The journalists were given cash by the BJP government in the state with the intention of putting a lid on the corruption (charges) in their tenure”.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president DK Shivakumar meanwhile said that the issue of 40% commissions in government contracts which was taken up first by the state contractors’ association by lodging a complaint to Prime Minister Narendra Modi has “now encompassed all the departments”.
Responding to Bommai’s comment that “Congress should halt the victory march of BJP if the opposition party had any guts”, Shivakumar said: “Let the chief minister and ruling party leaders first prove that they have the guts to order probes into all the corruption charges and punish the guilty. They can talk about other parties later.”
Targeting the government over pothole related deaths, the Congress leader said, “The deaths on roads in accidents due to damaged roads are nothing but murders committed by the government... the authorities have completely failed in maintenance”.
Speaking to reporters, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike chief commissioner Tushar Girinath said that two notices will be issued to the officials of BBMP over the potholes. The first will be to warn if a pothole is found uncovered and the second will be about disciplinary action, including suspension.
“Few notices have already been issued to assistant engineers, assistant executive engineers, executive engineers and chief engineers in this regard,” he said.
“Collecting money and corruption has become more important to the government than lives and well-being of people,” Shivakumar said. “The death of Inspector Nandeesh is proof that corruption is rampant even in the recruitment and posting or transfers of police officers,” he added.
Responding to a query on the Hubballi-based contractor Basavaraj Amargol’s commission allegations against the state, Siddaramaiah said, “the government should answer these charges.”
Amargol had lodged a police complaint on February 22 alleging that his bills for the supplies during the Covid period were yet to be cleared. He had alleged that the concerned officers were demanding 30 to 40% commission, following which he had written to the President seeking permission for mercy death as he was unable to clear his loans. Amargol said that he had supplied materials for works related to the fight against Covid-19, worth ₹85 lakh to Kadur taluk and ₹ 27 lakh to Mudigere taluk in Chikkamagaluru district in 2020-21. Only 20% of the bills were cleared and the remaining 80% were yet to be cleared.
The contractor on Saturday wrote to President Droupadi Murmu alleging that the officials in Chikkamagaluru were refusing to clear his bills and demanding a 40% commission. He urged the President to intervene in the matter and help him.
He said when he approached officials to clear the pending bills, they demanded up to 40% commission. “Those who supplied materials to me have been demanding that I settle the bills and have also lodged a police complaint. I approached chief minister Basavaraj Bommai and his officials. The latter asked the officials concerned to clear the bills. But that has not happened,” he alleged.
While the government or the BJP are yet to react to the contractor’s allegations, CM Bommai on Monday reiterated that he has directed the director general of police to probe the death of suspended K R Puram inspector Nandeesh and get an inquiry done if required, following allegations that it was linked to “cash for posting”. “There is no second thought as far as conducting an investigation is concerned,” he said.
