Upalokayukta’s remarks trigger political slugfest
CM Siddaramaiah rejects BJP's call for a CBI probe into corruption claims, citing past reports and accusing the previous administration of irregularities.
Chief minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday took to social media to rebut an appeal by the BJP for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into comments made by the state’s Upalokayukta at a recent event, where he claimed that the state faced 63% corruption across administrative sectors.
The Upalokayukta, justice B Veerappa, who heads the state’s anti-corruption watchdog, made the remarks at a public event on Wednesday.
In a post on X on Thursday, the chief minister referred to a report submitted by the Upalokyukta in 2019, during the tenure of the BJP government, saying that the report cited the same “63%” figure referred to by justice Veerappa at the event. “But today, senior BJP leader R. Ashoka, without correctly understanding the Upalokayukta’s statement, tried to tie the BJP’s sins onto our heads and in doing so, ended up exposing himself,” he said.
He went on to accuse the previous administration of a long list of irregularities, alleging that corruption during the BJP’s tenure spanned pandemic procurement, commissions across departments and mismanagement in major irrigation projects. He also cited the suicide of contractor Santosh Patil, which he linked to harassment by a former minister, and claimed that “many of your close associates ended up in jail” in the Police Sub Inspector recruitment scam. “If we start listing all the scams during the BJP era, one could compile an entire epic,” he said.
Siddaramaiah added that his government has tried to build a transparent system for recruitments and transfers to prevent misuse of authority. “In our administration, from recruitment to transfers, efforts are underway to ensure complete transparency and prevent any misuse of money or power,” he said.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Leader of Opposition in the assembly and senior BJP leader R Ashoka had said, “We—BJP— had made a 60% commission charge against this government, but a judge has said it is not 60, it is 63% . He (justice Veerappa) said it at an event where he shared the stage with other judges and senior advocates. He has alleged that there is corruption in almost all departments, nothing happens without paying commission. Karnataka is in fifth position in corruption.”
\Recalling that the Congress government, after coming to power, formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the “40% commission” charge it had made against the previous BJP government, Ashoka questioned whether the government would order another probe into the new allegations.
“If you have any shame left, resign and go... you formed SIT against us, constitute CBI probe on this (allegations against Congress govt), if you have guts, let the corruption in various departments come out in the open,” he had said.
On Friday, responding to the chief minister, Ashoka accused him of sidestepping accountability. “CM Siddaramaiah, it is one thing to be called foolish in politics; that can be forgiven. But in public life, especially in the chief minister’s chair, one must never become shameless,” he said in a statement.
Ashoka argued that the chief minister had acknowledged a ₹87 crore irregularity in the Valmiki Tribal Welfare Development Corporation inside the assembly and questioned why no decisive action followed. “When a chief minister acknowledges such a massive irregularity inside the assembly, the natural expectation is immediate action and accountability,” he said. He called Siddaramaiah’s decision to remain in office “sheer shamelessness.”
The BJP leader also referenced a public remark by Congress MLA and government economic adviser Basavaraja Rayareddy, who had suggested that Karnataka had become “No. 1 in corruption” under the current administration.
