He also urged partymen and leaders to raise their issues with national president JP Nadda or other central leaders, and not to media.
Published Dec 29, 2023 | 4:56 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 29, 2023 | 4:56 PM
Pralhad Joshi. (Supplied)
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, on Friday, 29 December, said the BJP national leadership will decide whether to take action against senior party MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal’s allegation on ₹40,000 crore mismanagement in Covid-19-related procurement under party veteran BS Yediyurappa’s tenure as the chief minister.
He also urged partymen and leaders to raise their issues with national president JP Nadda or other central leaders, and stop airing their concerns in public or before the media.
“He (Yatnal) is a sitting legislator, our national president and the national unit will decide on whether to call and talk to him or take action,” Joshi said in response to a question about whether there will be any action against Yatnal.
Yatnal, a former Union minister and a known bête noire of former chief minister BS Yediyurappa has been publicly making allegations against the veteran leader and his son BY Vijayendra for some time now. He had even openly criticised the party’s decision to appoint Vijayendra as its state president.
The state BJP unit had deemed the allegations of Yatnal as “damage to dignity of party”.
“In the two-hour long meeting on Wednesday, almost an hour went into discussing how Yatnal’s remarks against BS Yediyurappa were unacceptable. Leaders unanimously agreed that the State President should write to central leaders of the BJP and recommend Yatnal’s expulsion from the party,” a source from the meeting had told South First.
In a meeting of newly-appointed office-bearers, sources from the BJP said that leaders urged state president BY Vijayendra to recommend Banasagouda Patil Yatnal’s expulsion from the party.
Responding to another query about voices in the party that Yediyurappa camp has had an upper hand concerning the appointment of state office-bearers, as his confidants have been appointed, Joshi said, “Everyone in the party belongs to the BJP, and there is nothing like someone is close to someone, while others are not.”
“If anyone has any issues or concerns they can bring it to the notice of the state president, and if it cannot be shared with the state president, it can be discussed with the national president. Instead, making open statements will not be good for the party. I want to tell all those making public statements that if they consider the party’s interest, stop making open statements; it’s not right,” he added.
Noting that the party’s national leadership has newly appointed a young state president (Vijayendra), Joshi, a Member of Parliament from the Dharwad constituency, said, the appointment was made by the national president in consultation with the Prime Minister and other leaders, and it’s the decision of the central unit of the party.
Karnataka BJP General Secretary P Rajeev said on Wednesday that the party had taken note of “certain recent developments” and would not tolerate any activities that cause damage to its dignity.
Responding to a question on Yatnal’s statement, Rajeev said, without taking any names, that all recent developments in the party were discussed at length during the Karnataka BJP office-bearers’ meet held on Wednesday under the leadership of state president BY Vijayendra.
Yatnal, known for making controversial remarks, told reporters in Vijayapura on 26 December, that face masks priced ₹45 a piece were billed at ₹485 during the peak Covid-19 period. He accused the then BS Yediyurappa government of ₹40,000 crore misappropriation.
He also alleged that the BJP government under Yediyurappa took beds on rent at a higher rate.
“These 10,000 beds were taken on rent. One bed was rented out for ₹20,000 per day. We could have purchased two beds and other necessary items (for this price). Do you know the expenses they have incurred daily during Covid-19?” Yatnal asked reporters.
When asked for evidence, he said that it was with the PAC (Public Accounts Committee). “HK Patil, who is currently the Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs, was then the PAC chairman,” he said.
“Why was CC Patil (the BJP’s Nargund MLA) made the chairman of PAC? They asked me (to take up this post) and I told them I would expose everything. Hence, I was not made (the chairman),” Yatnal claimed.
He also alleged that hospitals charged more during the Covid-19.
Following Yatnal’s allegation, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah appealed to the Vijayapura City MLA to submit evidence in support of his claim to the Nagamohan Das Committee, which was set up on 26 August this year to probe the “40 percent commission” charges levelled against the BJP regime by the Karnataka State Contractors’ Association.
“Yatnal should not do a hit-and-run job. If he is committed to eradicating corruption, he should take the charges to their logical conclusion. For this, he should hand over all the information he has about corruption during Corona to the commission of inquiry formed under the headship of retired Justice Nagamohan Das,” Siddaramaiah opined
Based on the allegations made by the PAC of the 15th Legislative Assembly in 2021, the Siddaramaiah government also constituted an inquiry commission led by Justice (Retd) John Michael D’Cunha in August to probe the irregularities in Covid-19-related procurements.
Karnataka IT Minister Priyank Kharge, too, said that Yatnal should at least hand over the details to the Justice John Michael Cunha Commission of Inquiry to probe into the Covid-19-related irregularities.
“If you (Yatnal) are not interested in handing it over to the Commission, then share it with the media because it is a ₹40,000 crore scam. There is no humanity if they (the previous BJP government) made money from corpses,” Kharge said reacting to BJP MLA’s statement.
(With PTI inputs)
