Three years on, the Congress is firmly in power, but the campaign has faded from memory. The phone number and website have disappeared, and there is little clarity on what became of the complaints or the Congress’ promise to act on them.
Published Sep 07, 2025 | 5:00 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 07, 2025 | 10:16 PM
PayCM posters were pasted by the Congress across Bengaluru in 2022.
Synopsis: Three years after the Congress in Karnataka accused the then BJP government of widespread corruption, alleging a ‘40 percent’ commission on everything from infrastructure contracts to welfare schemes and public works, the party is firmly in power, with the campaign having played a key role in its success in the 2023 Assembly elections. Yet its promises to act on the alleged irregularities are yet to materialise, while the dedicated website and phone number it had set up to seek public participation have quietly disappeared, as the campaign itself has faded from public memory.
Among a key contributors to the Congress’ rise to power in Karnataka during the 2023 Assembly elections was a viral campaign the party launched just months before the polls.
It accused the then ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of widespread corruption under the slogan ‘40 percent sarkara’.
In late 2022, the Congress put out a dedicated phone number (844-770-40-40) and a website (http://40percentsarkara.com), asking the public to join hands in exposing the ruling coalition’s alleged corruption, with a promise to act on complaints once it came to power.
A key part of the campaign was a “rate card” that listed alleged commissions being demanded by the ruling coalition in areas such as governance, welfare benefits, Covid-19 supplies, PWD contracts, mutt grants and even egg supply.
The allegations also covered irregularities in food kits, digital currency, bank loans, land deals, and a sex scandal involving former BJP minister Ramesh Jarkiholi.
The campaign was instrumental in putting the Basavaraj Bommai-led government on the defensive and contributed to its fall months later.
Three years on, the Congress is firmly in power, but the campaign has faded from memory. The phone number and website have disappeared, and there is little clarity on what became of the complaints or the Congress’ promise to act on them.
40% ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಭ್ರಷ್ಟಾಚಾರ ಬಯಲು ಮಾಡಲು ನಮ್ಮೊಂದಿಗೆ ಕೈಜೋಡಿಸಿ.
844-770-40-40 ಗೆ ಕರೆ ಮಾಡಿ ಭ್ರಷ್ಟಾಚಾರದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ದೂರು ನೀಡಿ https://t.co/n5QTYaDmz7 ಗೆ ಭೇಟಿ ನೀಡಿ ನಿಮ್ಮ ದೂರನ್ನು ದಾಖಲು ಮಾಡಿ.
2023ರಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಈ ದೂರಿನ ಕುರಿತು ಕ್ರಮ ಕೈಗೊಳ್ಳಲಿದೆ.#40percentsarkara pic.twitter.com/FlPei8dnZT
— Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) September 13, 2022
Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Priyank Kharge told South First that the dedicated website was only meant to inform the public “why it [BJP] was a loot and scoot government,” and was never intended as a platform to receive complaints.
Kharge said the so-called “rate cards” were not prepared by the Congress itself, but were sourced from media reports.
“All the accusations that we had made, the rate cards on the front page were not our rate cards. Nothing was just a hit and run,” he said.
He also maintained that there was never a helpline for public complaints, but once the campaign began, many documents were sent to the party anonymously.
“One of the reasons why we were able to put the then government on the backfoot was because we did not randomly speak something… I was called up by the CID twice, saying where are you getting this information from.”
Kharge also pointed to institutional follow-ups on the issues raised.
He cited the Justice D’Cunha committee, where citizens could share information on Covid-19 procurement irregularities, and the commission headed by Justice HN Nagamohan Das, which submitted an 8,900-page report to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on alleged irregularities in 761 works executed under the now-defunct Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) between 2019-20 and 2022-23.
“All the issues that we raised, we are tackling them one by one,” Kharge said, giving the example of the PSI recruitment scam. “We got a re-exam done and people got their jobs.”
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
